Here Comes the Sun
by supernaturaldarkangel252018
Summary: AU set before season one- five months after the Berrisford mission. Ben was going downhill fast. They had been out for ten years; they didn't have to kill anymore. He was losing his mind, but Zack couldn't stick around 24/7 to watch him. He left to go find someone that might actually be able to help his brother. He just hoped they were still alive.
1. Chapter 1

_Ok, so if you follow me and are reading my other stories I know I have a lot open right now, but this just popped into my head and I wanted to share it. I haven't forgotten my other stories, so don't worry about that! This is an AU set before season one of Dark Angel-set five months after the Berrisford mission. Let me know if you guys like it and would like to see more!_

* * *

His brother was going downhill fast. He was losing his mind, but he couldn't stick around 24/7 to watch him. Ben had always had the most imagination in the unit, but he always thought his stories were real, and not just stories to get him through to the next day. He should have known he wouldn't be able to handle the outside world on his own. He should have sent one of their brothers or sisters with him, but it was safer to split up. Now though…now Ben needed someone.

"Zack, what're you doing here?" Ben asked, his voice soft and his head down. He'd just walked in, but Ben hadn't looked up at his arrival. He still had his training, so that was something. He was sitting on a stool in the corner, his forearms resting on his knees, his bloody hands shaking between them, but not from their deficiency, but from what he'd just done. He wouldn't have believed it, except he saw it with his own eyes. Ben had murdered a man in cold blood, etching his barcode in the back of his neck and stealing his teeth. They'd killed the prisoner and taken his teeth back at Manticore, but that was because they had to.

They had been out for ten years; they didn't have to kill anymore. He didn't know what Ben was doing, but he needed help. He needed to find someone that could help him. He had someone in mind, but he didn't know how he was going to pull this off.

"I'm just checking in," Zack said, leaning against the wall of the shack Ben was hiding in. His siblings weren't exactly thriving out in the world, but they were still alive, so that was something. This shack though…it was bad. It was cold and dark and lonely. He wanted to get Ben out of there and try to get something else going for him. "I'm keeping track of everyone just to be sure we're all doing ok."

"I'm fine," Ben answered shortly. He stood up and walked over to the sink, if it could even be called that. It was a pipe that was coming out of the floor with a bucket lying below it. Ben twisted the knob to start the water, and then started scrubbing the blood from his hands.

"What happened?" Zack asked, though he already knew. He saw what happened, but he wanted to hear it from Ben. "Are you injured?"

"No," Ben said. "I was offering a sacrifice to The Blue Lady." He turned the water off and dried his hands on his legs, turning to face him again.

"Ben…" Zack said with a sigh. He couldn't keep doing this; he couldn't deal with his brother's crazy, but he couldn't leave him alone. "Stay here. I'll be back and I don't want to come looking for you again. But be ready to move."

"Where are you going?" Ben asked, a lost look crossing his face briefly before his mask fell back in place.

"I'm going to get someone. Just pack up what you need, because you won't be staying here," Zack said. Ben nodded once, which reassured him that he would do what he was told. He slipped out to go find someone that might actually be able to help his brother. He just hoped they were still alive.

* * *

He waited three weeks, and was just about to give up on Zack, when he finally came back. But he wasn't alone. He had someone, who was unconscious by the looks of him, draped over his left shoulder.

"We gotta move," Zack said as a greeting.

He grabbed his one bag with his few belongings in it, and followed Zack without question. He didn't recognize the man that was hanging from Zack's shoulder; he was wearing fatigues and seemed familiar, but he couldn't see his face. It didn't matter. He didn't know what Zack was doing, and he didn't care. He had his orders and he would follow them.

Zack ran as soon as he was outside, and he matched his pace. He didn't know why they were running, but Zack was in charge and there was no time for questions.

They ran to the outside of town, and then Zack finally slowed. He stopped completely next to a beat up four-door and ordered, "Hotwire this car. Don't break the window though. It'll look too suspicious"

Zack turned to look behind him, while he quickly and efficiently broke into the car. "I'm in," Ben announced once he had the door open. Zack came back over and opened the backdoor, unceremoniously dumping the unconscious man onto the backseat.

He worked on getting the correct wires to spark as Zack slid into the passenger seat. "Hurry Ben. They can't be too far behind…"

"Who?" Ben questioned.

Zack did a hit and run with his eyes before he admitted, "Manticore."

He froze, dropping the wires in his hand, before he snapped his focus to the backseat. "Who the Hell is that?!" Ben asked in shock. He wouldn't have even noticed, except the man had his face. His freckles, over his nose, his mouth, his hair…he was completely identical to him. "Zack?!" Ben asked, his voice rising in panic.

"Move," Zack ordered, sliding over to take the wires from him. Zack had to push him out of the way to get him moving, and he wordlessly walked around the car to sit in the passenger seat. His eyes never left the man that looked like him.

He had a million questions running through his mind, but he didn't know how to voice any of them. Who was this man? Why did he look like him? How did Zack know where to find him? Why did he bring him here? How did he not know about him before? Was this man his brother? His _real_ brother.

He'd never thought about having a real brother before…He had his unit, but they were all scattered now and had been since they escaped. Zack checked in every once in a while, but he never stuck around long. He hated being alone. Being alone let the bad thoughts in. It was easier to push them away when he was around someone else, but none of the ordinaries could ever understand what he'd been through. He was alone.

Except…maybe not now.

"I'll answer everything once we lose the guys that are following me," Zack said, finally starting the engine and peeling out of the parking lot.

Ben forced his eyes away from the man to look out the back window. He didn't see anyone following them, but that didn't mean they weren't there.

Zack didn't relax until they were out of Oregon and into Washington. They'd switched out the car twice, stopped to get food and use the facilities, and even took a small break at a park to stretch their legs and to check their surroundings. The man had remained unconscious the entire time, not even rousing when they'd stopped at the park and left him in the car with the windows cracked. Zack found a hotel, and actually had money to pay for it. He didn't know where his brother had gotten the money, but he wasn't going to ask. A hotel was a lot nicer than the shacks he'd been staying in and it'd be nice to have a shower again instead of a sink and a washcloth.

"Do you need help?" Ben asked, keeping an eye out for anyone walking by while Zack carefully got the man out of the backseat. Along with all their similarities he'd also noticed the bruises and swelling on the man's face, and figured the rest of him was probably injured as well. He wanted to know what happened, and hoped that an explanation would be coming soon.

"I got him," Zack said, lifting the man easily in his arms instead of just tossing him over his shoulder again. "I'm gonna ditch the car as soon as I get him settled, and then I'll tell you everything," Zack said, walking past him and to the door he'd left open at the side of the building. "If he wakes up, do not let him leave. He wouldn't be able to get far, but he'll hurt himself more trying to do so. Just try to keep him calm and on the bed. He shouldn't wake up, but…I don't know…He shouldn't even be alive."

Ben nodded, wordlessly following his brother down the hall and to the room he had booked. Zack gently laid the man on one of the beds, situating his arms and legs so he'd be more comfortable.

"How injured is he?" Ben asked, scanning the man to try to find where he was hurt.

"Broken ribs and left leg. I still need to stabilize his knee, but I put in some stitches in his side before I came back. He took a bullet for me…" Zack said.

"Did you give him a name?" Ben asked, unsure what to call the man, but he suddenly needed to know. He didn't want him to go without a name.

"Alec," Zack said with a small smirk. "I'll let you figure out why once he wakes up."

"And he's my brother?" Ben asked, even though the proof was pretty undeniable.

Zack nodded, "X5-494. Yeah, he's your brother. Your twin, actually."

"Alec…" Ben whispered, testing the name. He looked at his brother and nodded to himself. He had a brother, and his name was Alec.

* * *

His memories were a little fuzzy, but he was pretty sure Manticore hadn't upgraded their cots for mattresses in the last 24 hours. He started to open his eyes, but stopped when he realized there was another person in his room. They were pacing, so not one of the doctors and not Lydecker.

The person's footsteps were muffled, so they were walking on carpet. He definitely wasn't in Manticore anymore.

It hit him suddenly; a man had come in and told him he was there to get him out. Zack. That was his name. Zack said he could get him out. He'd scoffed, saying that it was impossible, especially since he could barely move. He'd been lying on his cot, only half conscious and sort of thinking Zack was a hallucination, but he'd played along.

He let Zack help him up, and keep him up as he led him out of there. He'd thought it was a joke until the bullets started flying. His adrenaline had kicked in and he'd managed to hold his own and help in his own escape. He'd stupidly pushed Zack out of the way and took the bullet intended for him, but it was probably better that he was the one who got hurt instead of Zack. At least one of them should be functioning at all levels if they were going to get out of there.

He must have passed out after that, and somehow Zack got them both out of there and brought him here.

Having connected the dots, he slowly opened his eyes, expecting to see Zack pacing across the room. His eyes widened when it wasn't Zack he saw, but a man identical to himself. He ran his hand through his hair as he paced, and then he looked over at him.

The man jumped in surprise seeing that he was awake, but then quickly started towards him only to stop before he got too close. "Zack didn't think you were going to wake up," the man said. His voice was soft, like he was afraid he'd hurt him if he were too loud.

"Where'd he go?" He asked. His voice was weaker than he liked, especially in front of this stranger, but he couldn't do anything to change that.

"He went to go hide the car," the man said. He nodded in understanding and tried to move to sit up, but quickly abandoned that idea when his entire body protested the movement. Two hands were suddenly at his shoulders, gently easing him back down. "Try not to move," the man whispered. "Zack said you got shot and we braced your left knee before he left, so it'd be a bad idea to try to walk until we find some crutches."

He studied the man in front of him, trying to figure him out. He was almost certain this was 493, but he had no idea why he was here or why he would bother trying to help him. If he wasn't flat on his back right now, he would probably attack him, but since he was, he was just going to have to play this a different way.

Except he had no idea what to say to this guy. 493 was the reason he was thrown into psy-ops for six months. His twin escaped and they wanted to make sure he didn't have the same tendencies. It was almost funny now, since he actually did have the same tendencies.

He would have never escaped on his own, he hadn't even thought about it until Zack broke into his cell, but since Rachel…He closed his eyes; even thinking about her was painful.

"Um, do you need ice or something?" The man hesitantly asked.

"No," he replied shortly. "Did Zack say when he was coming back?"

The man looked to the door, but then shook his head no. "He had to scout the area too…"

"Any idea why he broke me out?" He asked.

The man's sharp eyes met his in surprise, "He didn't tell you why he broke you out?"

"No," he replied slowly. "He just came in and said he was busting me out. Said he would explain later."

"He just told me he'd explain later too," the man said.

They sat in silence for a while, and he really wanted to go back to sleep, but he wasn't going to let his guard down around this stranger. This stranger who was the reason for a lot of his pain. But not all of it…He was responsible for most of it. Just like he was responsible for Rachel's death.

They both jumped when there was a sudden knock at the door. The man instantly reached for what he assumed was a handgun tucked in the back of his jeans, and slowly walked over to the door. He checked the peephole, and then opened the door. Zack walked in, his eyes immediately looking for him.

"You're awake," Zack said in surprise. "I didn't think you'd wake up for a while still." He didn't answer, but Zack didn't seem concerned. "How're you feeling?"

"I'm alright," he automatically answered.

Zack nodded, "Well, looks like you two already met…" He trailed off when he saw him and the man look at each other. "You guys did at least say a couple things to each other, right? You didn't just sit here in silence, right?"

"He's just been a little out of it," the man covered.

"Yeah, it's very disorienting to suddenly wake up in a random room with a stranger that looks just like you," he said sarcastically.

"See what I mean about his name?" Zack asked the man with a smirk. The man looked confused, and really he couldn't help his own look of confusion because he had no idea what Zack was talking about. "You know, Alec, as in smart-aleck," Zack explained.

"Ohhh," he and the man said at the same time. He'd forgotten Zack had given him a name. He liked the name, he just wasn't used to it yet. Now that he remembered that he had a name, he kind of wondered what the man's name was. Zack had a name, and had named him, so he assumed the man had a name and didn't go by 493 anymore.

Zack walked over to him and checked his pulse, putting gentle pressure against his neck to check. "Pulse is decent," Zack said. He suddenly pulled down the covers revealing he didn't have a shirt on, but he still had his pants. There was some gauze taped over his bruised right side, just below his ribs, which Zack carefully pulled from his skin. "Bullet wound looks good. How're the ribs?"

"Still broken," Alec said. It was weird to think of himself with an actual name, but he liked it.

"And your knee?" Zack asked, pulling the blanket from his left leg. His pants were cut off at his left thigh, a bandage wrapped tightly around his calf and knee with a metal rod in place to help stabilize it.

"Haven't made it that far yet," Alec said.

"Ok, we'll test it in a little bit," Zack said, pulling his covers back up before he walked over and grabbed two chairs. "Might as well take a seat," he said to the man. "This is going to be a long explanation." He looked back at him and said, "If you need something, tell me. You're not in Manticore anymore, so you don't have to suffer in silence."

Ok…whatever that meant…

"Ben, c'mon, take a seat," Zack said.

So the man did have a name. He looked at Ben again, and decided the name fit him. Ben was looking at him too, but quickly looked away when their eyes met. Ben walked over to the second chair and sat down.

"So, obviously you two are twins, but they kept you separated. They keep all the twins separated as far as I can tell," Zack said.

"How did you even know about him?" Ben asked.

"I saw him about five months ago," Zack said. "I thought he was you, but it became pretty clear that he was still Manticore. He was on a mission…" He paled knowing what mission Zack was talking about. Rachel… "I tried to get him out during the mission, but they were watching him too closely to get him out."

"And then you waited five months to try to get me out?" Alec questioned. He wasn't mad, but if he wanted him out so bad, then why did he wait so long. Besides, he would've really liked to get out of psy-ops a lot sooner.

Zack looked at him and said, "You were too heavily guarded and I wasn't willing to take the risk until I knew I had to." He and Ben shared a look, both confused about what he was talking about. What did he mean 'until I knew I had to'? Zack sighed and looked to Ben, "Ben, what you're doing is wrong, but I can't stick around to make sure you stop, which is why I went and got Alec."

"What?" Ben asked in confusion at the same time he asked, "Are you serious?"

"Someone needs to stay with him," Zack said to him. "Besides, do you really want to go back to psy-ops?"

He saw Ben flinch at the word, but he ignored him and growled, "You told me I was free, but what you meant to say was that I'm free from Manticore as long as I do what you want me to do."

"Just give it a chance," Zack said. "You guys are brothers and you might actually get along."

He forced himself to sit up, holding in a groan of pain, but glaring at Zack. "Do you even realize how much I hate you?! Both of you?!"

"Alec, I got you out," Zack argued.

"For your own reasons! Not for me!" Alec yelled. "You, your whole unit, you're the reason I went to psy-ops for six months! They wanted to make sure I wasn't going to follow in my twin's footsteps!"

"You can either get over it or hold a grudge, it's up to you," Zack said simply, not rising up to argue with him like he expected. "But you're stuck here for a while, so I suggest you get over it."

He crossed his arms and looked away; he didn't like it, but he was going to be stuck here for a while. He might be able to get out of here after a little more rest, but he knew he wasn't up for it yet. Even transgenics had their limits and he'd been in psy-ops since his last mission.

"What do you mean because what I was doing was wrong?" Ben asked.

Zack's focus shifted back to Ben and said, "Ben, you can't kill people as a sacrifice to The Blue Lady. It's wrong." Ok, his brother was a total nut job. He really hoped crazy didn't run in the family.

"We did it at Manticore," Ben said, sounding slightly lost.

"That was then. Life or death," Zack said. "You can't do that now. And I brought Alec here so he could keep an eye on you since I have to check on the rest of our brothers and sisters."

Ben just nodded, keeping his eyes down. This talk definitely didn't get through to him. He sighed; now it was on him to keep his crazy brother in check. Not really what he'd been planning on doing with his newfound freedom, but if he didn't, then Ben would keep killing and that would be on him. He didn't used to care about that, but ever since Rachel…he'd changed at least a little bit. Had more of a moral compass. He didn't even know what to do with his freedom anyway, so what else was he going to do. "Fine. I'll stay," Alec muttered.

"Great. I'll get something set up for you guys, but until then stay here," Zack said. "I'll be back with some food later."

He looked over at Ben, but he still had his head down, so he nodded to Zack and said, "Yeah…alright."

"Ben, get him some ice," Zack ordered. He must have known that was the only way to get Ben to respond since he wouldn't do anything else. "Alec, stay put, ok? We'll test your leg when I get back."

He barely had time to nod back before Zack was gone. Ben got up without a word and left the room, leaving him alone. He sank back against his pillows and closed his eyes in relief. He was exhausted; his body was broken and his mind was on overload. He's been in the chair with the laser in his eye before Zack showed up. He needed this time alone to just regroup and get his game-face back on.

Too soon, Ben came back and walked over to him. "What hurts the most?" Ben asked, his voice lacking any spirit.

"Nothing. I'm fine," Alec grumbled. He just wanted to be left alone, to endure this pain in solitude. He didn't want witnesses to his misery, especially strangers.

"Ok…I'll just dump this ice then," Ben said.

"No," Alec said quickly. He couldn't help himself; his ribs were throbbing and his knee was killing him. Ice actually sounded pretty good right about now, even if it made him look weak. "Ribs and knee. It's a toss up which one's worse."

Ben smiled just a little bit before he walked to the bathroom, split up the ice into two washcloths, and then came back over to him. He pulled down the blanket and settled the ice on his ribs on his left side. "This side's worse, right?" Ben asked, guessing by the darker bruises on his left side.

He nodded, "Three on this side, only one on the other. Gunshot's on the other, but Zack got the bullet out, so it's not so bad."

"And your knee?" Ben asked, pulling the blanket further away.

"I think it's just strained, nothin' serious," Alec replied.

Ben placed the ice, and then pulled the blanket over him again. "If you want to get some rest, I've got your back," Ben said softly.

He was touched that his brother, who was still a stranger, was willing to watch his back, was willing to try to build some trust with him, was willing to try period…he actually took him up on the offer. Was willing to show the same trust and actually let his guard down enough to at least doze off a little.

"Thanks," Alec said, "Just wake me up when the food gets here." He was willing to show some trust, but he wasn't quite willing to make everything so sappy and share all his feelings. He had to keep some of his walls up; after all, he barely knew this guy. All he had going for him was that they shared the same DNA. But, he was willing to try.

Ben let out a surprised chuckle and nodded, "Sure, you got it."

* * *

 _Let me know if you want more?_


	2. Chapter 2

_Thank you guys for the reviews! I'm happy to see there's some interest in this new random idea!_

* * *

It was incredibly disorienting to fall asleep in one room, and wake up in another. He didn't miss the fact that he had been carried, again, and still hadn't woken up. Psy-ops had nearly killed him, and he might have let them if Zack hadn't shown up. It was going to take a few days to get back on his feet, but it was weird trusting strangers enough to take care of him. He didn't have a choice, but he'd never really trusted anyone before; he'd never really had a reason to trust anyone. His unit didn't stick together, it was every man for themselves. He didn't have anyone, but now Ben and Zack seemed to want him to stick around. It was for their own reasons, and not for him, but he would take what he could get.

Except, he might draw the line at his new living situation…

This place looked like the complete opposite from the hotel. This place had dirty wood floors, log walls, no furniture, except the bed he was currently laying on, and no electricity. The room he was in was the only room. He was used to having minimal comforts, but this was just ridiculous.

He looked up when the door, which was hanging off of its hinges, opened and Zack and Ben came in, each carrying an armful of firewood. There was a small fireplace in the corner with a fire going. It was warm in there, so at least that was something.

"So, is this home sweet home?" Alec asked, drawing Zack and Ben's attention to him.

"It's not as bad as it looks," Ben quickly defended.

"Yeah, you guys can fix this place up. Make it nice," Zack added on. "It's a twelve-mile hike to town, so no one should bother you here and it'll be hard for Manticore to find you."

"You're serious…you expect us to stay here," Alec said.

Zack frowned, "Yeah. What's wrong with it?"

Alec looked around and said like it was obvious, "There's only one room! This is it!"

"There's an outhouse out back," Zack said.

"But we can fix it up," Ben said before he could say anything. "We can…I don't know…I don't know anything about electricity…or plumbing…or…um building…"

Ben trailed off, and he suddenly felt like he should try to make this better. "Well this bed is pretty much the best bed I've ever laid in. Very soft…so, um, that's a plus. We'll just have to find another one somewhere since I'm not keen on sharing."

Ben chuckled and nodded, "I figured that'd be first on the list."

Zack walked over to him and reached to pull down his blanket. He caught his arm though to stop him and growled, "Back off." Instinct. It was just his instinct to keep people away from him. It was safer that way.

"I'm just checking your bullet wound," Zack said, raising his free hand to try and placate him.

"It's fine," Alec said. "I don't need your help." He released Zack's hand, and thankfully Zack backed away from him. He couldn't really stop him right now if he didn't back off, so he was glad he backed off.

He slowly sat up, sending a glare to Zack when he started to move forward again. Zack stopped again, and he leaned back against the wall, finally getting that he wanted some space. He wanted to stand up and do something, anything, but he knew he couldn't. "Ok, so, we stay here and do what?" Alec asked.

Zack shrugged, "Whatever you want. Just stay off the radar. Don't draw too much attention, keep a low profile, but enjoy life. You're free now."

"You know what? You're a walking contradiction," Alec said. Zack was telling him he could do whatever he wanted, just as long as he watched out for Ben and didn't draw any attention to themselves. How did that make any sense?

"You don't have to like it, but it's better than being at Manticore, right?" Zack asked.

He shrugged, "I don't know. It wasn't so bad there. I knew what was expected and just had to do what I was told. But the main thing that really sticks out…it had electricity and a working bathroom."

"They were torturing you, Alec!" Zack yelled. "They killed that girl, and then punished you for not completing your mission. You're telling me you prefer that?!"

"Leave her outta this?!" Alec yelled back, trying to push himself to his feet. Two hands were suddenly there, pushing him back to the bed. He was about to try to throw them off, but then he realized it was Ben who was gently pushing him down.

"Alec, don't move. You could make your injuries worse," Ben said.

He deflated just a little bit, getting himself back under control. He didn't usually let his anger go unchecked, but Zack had gone too far. Rachel was dead and it was his fault. Her father was his mission, but she got caught in the crossfire. He should've tried harder to save her. He should have warned her sooner, then maybe she would still be alive.

"Are you hungry?" Ben asked. "I know I could eat…I could make us something?"

"You suck at changing the subject," Alec said. Ben looked at him with concerned eyes, worried that he was going to reject his offer. He didn't want to disappoint him so he said, "Yeah, I could eat." Ben smiled and nodded. He walked over to the right side of the room and grabbed a pot and a can of something before he walked over to the fireplace. "I guess the right side of the room is the kitchen," Alec quipped.

Ben chuckled, "I guess we could draw in some rooms…divide them up and all that."

"Yeah, here's the bedroom, you're in the living room, and that's the kitchen," Alec said. "I guess we could draw an arrow heading outside for the bathroom."

"See, you're getting used to it already," Zack said.

"I would still like some electricity," Alec grumbled.

* * *

"You ok?" Zack asked him.

He jumped, startled from his thoughts, and nodded. "Yeah, I'm ok…" They were sitting in front of the fire on the floor, having just had their fill of warm beans. They weren't the best, but it was better than nothing.

He didn't really want to talk, especially since he couldn't wrap his head around the fact that Zack thought he was doing something wrong. He had to give The Blue Lady something so she would keep him and his brothers and sisters safe. She was the only thing that made sense in this world and he couldn't lose that. He couldn't lose his faith in her. What he was doing was right. Except, Zack didn't think so.

"Ben, I'm doing this to help you. You can't keep killing people. You're not at Manticore," Zack said.

"Alec's right," Ben argued. "I knew what was expected at Manticore. There was structure and it made sense. It doesn't make sense out here."

"I wasn't joking when I said they were torturing him," Zack said softly. "The only injury he sustained in the escape was the gunshot wound. Everything else came before that." Zack turned to look at Alec, who was passed out again.

He'd only eaten a few bites of the beans before he'd started looking a little green, and claimed that he was full. Zack had helped him scoot down in the bed again and covered him with the blanket. Part of him wished that he was the one helping Alec; that was his brother, his real brother, and he should be the one taking care of him. But he didn't want to push Alec too far; he didn't want to scare him away. He wanted his brother to stay. He didn't want to be alone anymore.

"Ben," Zack said to get his attention again. "Alec's going to stay with you. He'll help you get through this."

"Why can't you stay?" Ben asked, sounding way too young and needy. But Zack was the oldest in their unit and he looked after them. He wanted Alec to stay, but he wanted Zack to stay too. What if Alec decided he didn't like him enough to stay? Then he would be alone again until Zack could check on him again.

"I've gotta check on everyone else," Zack said. "Make sure they're doing ok and make sure Manticore hasn't caught wind of any of us. Lydecker's searching, but he hasn't found anyone yet."

"What if Alec doesn't stick around?" Ben asked.

"He will," Zack reassured, sounding so certain that it was true. "You can't tell yet, but I can already see a connection. You two are really brothers, and once he sees it, he won't be able to leave." Zack sounded a little sad at that last part, but he couldn't figure out why. Zack wanted Alec to stay, didn't he? Why else would he go to all the trouble to get Alec out if he didn't want him to stay? He didn't ask Zack any of that though since he was afraid Zack wouldn't want to answer and would leave him sooner.

What he really wanted to do was go out and find someone that he could sacrifice to The Blue Lady. She would help make sure Alec didn't leave him. But he glanced over at the man who was identical to him, who was his brother. He was so pale, his freckles were dark against his cheeks, and he knew he had a fever since he was trying to heal from the gunshot wound. He couldn't abandon him, leave him defenseless while he went and found someone to sacrifice. He needed to stay here until his brother was back on his feet, could stomach more than just beans, and could defend himself.

He was broken from his thoughts again when Zack stood up. "Where're you going?" Ben asked.

Zack grabbed his jacket and started to put it on. "I'm guessing you'd like to sleep on something other than the floor, right?"

"Well, yeah, but I don't mind. Alec needs the bed and I'll figure something out later," Ben said.

"The one bed was just temporary," Zack said. "Just so we could get Alec set up while we got the rest of the house a little more livable. There's a guy in town looking to get rid of some things, and I'm going to go get them."

"Do you need some help?" Ben asked, only sort of offering. He wanted to help Zack, but then no one would be around to help Alec if he needed it.

"No, watch out for Alec," Zack said. "I'll be back, and you can help me unload."

Ben finally nodded, and Zack left the little cabin. He stayed were he was for a few minutes after he was gone, and just sat there. He didn't know what he should do. He felt lost, just like he did every day. He needed something to focus on or something to do, but he didn't know what he could do. He just knew how to survive, and since he had already eaten, he didn't have anything else he had to do.

"No…no…I'm sorry," Alec suddenly mumbled in his sleep from across the room. "Please…"

He stood up and walked over to his brother. A whimper escaped his lips, and he instinctively reached out to touch his shoulder. Alec startled awake and quickly scrambled away from him. Except, he was still injured, so his movement caused his pain to spike and he started to sway. He gently, but firmly gripped Alec's shoulders to help keep him grounded and to keep him from falling off the bed.

"Alec, you're ok," Ben reassured. He didn't know how to make this better, but he had to do something. "Um, you're at the cabin, remember? The one without electricity and with the bathroom outside…But you haven't seen the outside yet. We're in the woods, up in the mountains. There's a stream nearby and Zack's leaving us a truck so we can go into town without hiking the twelve miles."

"That's good," Alec slurred, managing to open his eyes a crack.

"You ok?" Ben asked.

"Just great," Alec replied sarcastically. "Where is your oh-so-helpful brother Zack?"

"He went to go get us some things," Ben said. Alec started to push himself up, and he quickly reached out to help him. He felt good that Alec didn't pull away from him or try to brush off his help. "Do you want to take a grand tour?" Ben asked, trying to find a way to connect with his brother. Alec was funny, had made him laugh a few times in the short period he'd been there, and he wanted to try to get him to laugh too.

He smiled when he succeeded, and Alec laughed. He clutched his hand to his left side, bracing his broken ribs, but that didn't stop his laughing. "Yeah, I'd love to take a tour." He grabbed his crutches that they'd gotten for him and started to get them in position for Alec. He stopped though when he saw his brother's eyebrows raised in surprise. "The tour's that long that I need to get up for it?"

"Well, yeah," Ben said. "You haven't even seen the best part."

"In that case…" Alec said, reaching for the crutches. He helped him get them in position, and then hovered just in case Alec wavered. He looked steady though; he kept his balance and even managed to remain standing. "Where to first?" Alec asked, once he was on his feet.

"Well, this is the bedroom," Ben said. "I'm hoping to expand soon, so keep that in mind."

"This is nice," Alec said with a small nod as he looked around the small space.

Ben smiled, and then led the way to the right side of the room with Alec hopping slowly behind him, "And here's the kitchen. It's not much, but there's some nice shelving to hold the food."

"Mmmm…more beans…" Alec muttered.

"There's some soup too," Ben said, pointing to the bottom row of shelves.

"Very sustainable," Alec said sarcastically.

"You mean you need more than soup?" Ben asked with a smirk.

Alec looked over at him and said, "I had no idea you were funny."

"Where d'you think you got it from?" Ben asked back. He didn't think he was all that funny, but it was nice to know that Alec did.

"Good point," Alec said. "What else is in this wonderful shack?"

"It's a cabin," Ben corrected, but then started to the living room, where the fireplace was. "And here we have a wonderful, warm, fireplace that will be great in the winter."

"Very cozy," Alec said.

"Pretty nice, huh?" Ben asked, glancing over at Alec.

Alec actually nodded, "Yeah, it's not too bad."

"You haven't even seen the best part yet," Ben said. Alec looked at him, raising his eyebrows in a silent question. "The bathroom."

Alec broke into a wide smile and nodded, "Lead the way. I could use the facilities anyway." He walked outside, holding the door open for his brother as he hopped out. Alec stopped suddenly though, and he was afraid that something was wrong, but when he looked at Alec's face he saw wonder instead of pain. "You weren't kidding…the view makes it worth it."

Ben nodded and looked out past the trees where he could barely see the sparkle from the water from the stream. This wasn't like the woods that surrounded Manticore. These woods were warm and inviting, with trees that looked like they had been there since the beginning of time. It almost looked…magical.

"Maybe this place isn't so bad after all…" Alec said.

"So, you're really staying?" Ben asked, keeping his eyes on the sparkle of water.

"Yeah…if you want me to," Alec mumbled. He was trying to sound casual, but he could hear something else in his voice. He wasn't sure what it was, but all he knew was that Alec said he would stay.

"Yeah, I think it'd be good if you stayed," Ben said. "Wouldn't be so lonely…"

He turned to look at Alec to see how he would react, and saw him smile just a little and nod to himself. "Yeah, that'd be nice." Alec cleared his throat after a moment, and then said, "So, about that bathroom…"

He nodded and led the way off of the small porch to the outhouse around the back. He went slow since the terrain was uneven and rocky, and he didn't want Alec to fall. He stopped once they were at the small building and opened the door for his brother. "If you need help…just yell…"

Alec nodded once before he maneuvered himself into the tiny building and shut the door. "Wow, this is a high-end bathroom…" Alec quipped. "Never been in one quite like it…"

"Yeah, I just wish it had a shower," Ben said. "But I think we could set something up…maybe an outdoor shower or a tub with water…I don't know."

"Well, looks like we've got enough time to figure it out," Alec said, opening the door again and carefully hopping out. He looked even worse now than he did before, and he was leaning more against his crutches.

"Let's go ahead and end the tour…" Ben said. He was trying to keep their lighthearted banter going so Alec wouldn't shut him out. He wanted to make sure Alec would still let him help him.

"Probably a good idea," Alec said, his voice losing strength and he knew his brother needed to get back in bed.

He put his hand on Alec's shoulder and gently steered him back to the porch. He wished he could find something to talk about to keep Alec distracted, but he had no idea what would be a safe topic. He didn't want to accidently bring up something that would upset him.

"So…Zack…he the CO of your unit or something?" Alec suddenly asked.

"Yeah…I mean, he was," Ben said. "He checks in with us to make sure we're doing ok. Helps us if we need it."

"There's more around here I don't know about or something?" Alec asked, looking around for the others.

"No, we had to split up…I don't even know who else made it," Ben said.

"Seriously?" Alec asked. "It's been what? Ten years? And you don't even know who else is alive?!"

"It's safer if we stay apart," Ben said, avoiding Alec's gaze. "Zack says-"

"You always do what Zack says?" Alec asked. "Is he the reason you all booked it? He said let's go and you guys were just like, 'yeah, alright…'?"

"Alec, it wasn't like that," Ben argued. "It was life or death. They were going to take Max away and kill her!"

"So you just left. Who cares about anyone else, right? Who cares that there was an entire building full of us who were all in the same boat! Who would get taken away and never come back! Or those of us who weren't so lucky, and we did come back," Alec said. His voice had started out angry, but he had lost his strength by the end and was only whispering, his eyes almost shining with barely restrained tears.

"Alec, I…I didn't know," Ben said. "I thought we were doing what was right. I didn't even know you existed. I didn't know what they would do to everyone else." Alec was quiet, and he was afraid he was going to lose him if he didn't find some way to at least bridge this gap between them. He knew he couldn't fix this, but he had to try. "I'm sorry," he whispered. He really was sorry about what had happened to Alec because of him. He wanted to change things, but this was the best he could do.

Alec swallowed hard, but finally nodded. He knew Alec didn't forgive him for this, and he wasn't even sure he deserved his forgiveness, but he knew Alec wasn't going to disappear just because of this. "So, um, this Max…I'm guessin' she's pretty special, huh?" Alec said. His voice was rough, but he was trying to smooth things back over. "She your girlfriend or something?"

He made a disgusted face and shook his head no, "Max is like my little sister. That's just gross to think about…"

Alec chuckled, "Ok, good to know."

"C'mon, let's get you inside before you pass out," Ben said. Alec nodded and let him help him through the door and back into bed.

"Y'know…this bed just gets better and better…" Alec mumbled. Ben carefully guided his head back to the pillow, and he was out as soon as he was settled.

* * *

"Just a little bit further," Zack said.

"Just try to keep it down," Ben whispered. "Alec's still sleeping and…I kinda want this to be a surprise…"

The two of them must have bonded while he was gone, even though Alec was in the same position as he had left him. He didn't question Ben though. Whatever had happened, it had made this just a little easier.

Except, there was a flare of jealousy that Alec and Ben had connected so easily. He and Ben were brothers too, but their connection was because of Manticore. If they hadn't been in the same unit, they probably wouldn't have had anything in common. He was the leader, and although Ben was a great soldier, he needed someone to be in charge and he couldn't be alone.

He and Ben lowered the ratty sofa down in front of the fireplace together, which was next to the equally ratty armchair. The tiny cabin already looked a little more inviting with the added furniture, and they still had a few more things to bring in. He waited until they were outside before he asked, "Did Alec wake up again while I was gone?"

"Yeah," Ben said simply as he jumped into the back of the truck. He easily grabbed the mattress and held it up by himself, and then jumped back out of the truck.

"Did you guys talk?" Zack prodded. When Ben didn't want to talk, it was impossible to get any real answers.

"Yeah, I gave him a tour," Ben replied.

He sighed, but instead of trying to get a better answer he grabbed the blankets and the pillows and followed Ben back inside. The second bed was just a twin mattress; it didn't even have a frame, but at least there were two beds now. They were set up in an L shape in the far corner, Alec's bed set a little higher than the second bed. It was still small, but it actually could be a decent place to live.

His plan was to get everything set up, which was pretty much done, and then make sure Ben and Alec were getting along enough that they would stick together. He expected it to take longer, but if they really were ok, then he could start making his way to their next sibling. He had technically been checking on Ben for almost a month now. Usually he only stayed with each sibling for a few days before he went to the next one. It took some time to make sure Manticore wasn't anywhere close to them, and sometimes he had to track down his siblings again. A lot of them were staying in one place, but things happened and sometimes they had to move.

"Here's a pillow for him," Zack said, handing Ben one of the pillows.

He turned and started making up the other bed, but he kept an eye on Ben. His brother gently lifted Alec's head, and then settled him on the pillow. "Wha-" Alec said in confusion.

"Sorry, I just thought you'd be more comfortable this way," Ben said. "I didn't mean to wake you up."

"It's ok," Alec said, closing his eyes again. "Where'd you get a pillow?"

"Zack's back," Ben said. "He brought us some things."

Alec's eyes slowly opened again, and then he grumbled, "Help me up, would ya?" Ben carefully lifted Alec's shoulders and turned him so he could lean against the wall. Alec's eyes widened when he saw the extra furniture. "Wow, you guys have been busy…"

"Looks better, right?" Ben asked hopefully.

"Yeah, looks really cozy now," Alec said seriously.

That pang of jealousy was back, and now some resentment towards Alec. He almost regretted getting him out of Manticore. Ben would cling to Alec, and then he wouldn't need him anymore. Even though he and Ben didn't have much in common, Ben was still his brother, his little brother. He had to look out for his siblings. He protected them. They needed him.

"Ben, I think we need some more firewood," Zack suddenly said, making the twins jump in surprise. Ben shot a look to Alec, who shrugged back to him. "It's going to get cold tonight and we only got enough for the afternoon," Zack said to get his brother in motion.

Ben nodded, and then slowly got up and left the room. Zack turned to looked at Alec, who was smirking back at him. "Everything ok, _Zack_?" Alec asked, putting emphasis on his name.

"Back off," Zack warned. "If you aren't planning on sticking with him until the end, then you can't stay here."

Alec's smirk never wavered, which just pissed him off. "I thought you wanted me and Ben to get along…" Alec said, innocently. "Be brothers until the end of time and live happily ever after and all that."

"Do not hurt him," Zack warned, his voice low and threatening and ignoring what Alec had said. "If I find out you took off on him, left him by himself, I swear I will hunt you down and kill you."

He expected get some kind of reaction out of Alec, but his look didn't change. "And how would me taking off be any different than what you do?"

"I got you out so you could watch out for him. He can't be alone-"

"I'm staying!" Alec suddenly interrupted, anger finally showing. "I already told him I'm staying and I'm not going back on that!"

"Fine," Zack stated, looking away from Alec. He couldn't figure Alec out, and he didn't like that. Alec hadn't even wanted to leave Manticore, and now he was fine with sticking around, even wanted to. He tried to forget about it and push the jealousy and anger back because Alec was doing what he wanted. Ben needed someone to stay with him and help him get his head on straight, and unfortunately, he couldn't be that person. He needed to get over these feelings and just try to be grateful that Alec was willing to stay. "Sorry," Zack finally said since Alec wasn't saying anything. "Our unit was a family. I'm just trying to look out for everyone."

He saw Alec relax a little as he leaned back against the wall. He hadn't even realized how close to a physical fight they had almost gotten into. He knew Alec was in no shape for a fight, but it looked like that wasn't going to stop him.

He took a deep breath and tried to bridge the gap that was between them; this was Ben's _real_ brother, and he was going to have to trust him to help Ben. "Right now there's only canned food," Zack said softly. "There's a cellar out back that acts like a fridge, so you won't be stuck eating canned food forever."

"Good," Alec breathed out, accepting his olive branch. "I'm used to MRE's and all that, but I swear, those beans were worse."

It was quiet for a minute, and he took the time to look Alec over again. He looked worse than before, if it was possible. Healing took a lot of energy, and Alec looked like he was drained from the fight they'd just had. "Hey, you wanna lay down again?" Zack asked. Alec was looking a little unsteady sitting there, which was not a good sign. He knew Manticore had done a number on him, especially when he'd broken into his cell and he hadn't even acknowledged him. He had been afraid that he was too late when Alec didn't even move, but then he'd asked him if it was time again. His voice had sounded exhausted, but resigned to his fate. He'd known then that he had to get him out, now he just needed to remember that.

"No…I'm alright," Alec mumbled, but his eyes closed, completely counteracting what he said.

He knew better than to try to force Alec to lay down; it would only lead to another fight and possibly injuring Alec more. Instead, he got up and headed for the door. "I'm going to go help Ben. Just yell if you need something. We'll hear you."

Alec nodded, and then slowly tipped over, onto his side. He waited a few minutes to make sure Alec was really asleep before he walked back to him, and carefully situated him so he'd be more comfortable. He pulled the blanket over him again, but stopped when he saw Alec's eyes were somewhat open and he was looking at him.

"Um, sorry," Zack muttered. "I, uh…" He didn't know what to do; he hadn't expected that he would get caught…

"It's ok," Alec finally said, closing his eyes again.

He pulled the blanket up the rest of the way and made sure his head was on the pillow before he started for the door again since Alec hadn't told him to go away.

"Zack?"

He stopped, turning to look at Alec, and asked, "Yeah?"

"I promise, I'm not going anywhere," Alec said. "I don't know why…but…I won't leave."

He nodded and said what he should have said earlier, "Thanks Alec."

* * *

 _More soon. Hope you guys like it!_


	3. Chapter 3

"What do you mean I can't go?" Alec growled.

"I mean, you're not back on your feet yet and a bumpy ride isn't going to do you any good," Ben said without missing a beat. He was expecting a fight from Alec, and unfortunately, he wasn't disappointed. He had to ignore Alec's glare and hold his ground. Alec wasn't ready for a trip into town, and even though he didn't want to leave him here alone, he had to start getting used to the idea. They wouldn't be able to do everything together, and they would need their space since they were living in such close quarters. "We won't even be gone that long."

"My knee is fine. I'm not even using the crutches anymore," Alec argued, bringing up the only injury that had started to heal.

"You're not using the crutches, but you're still limping," Ben said. He didn't mention how Alec lost all of his color every time he stood up and clutched his side if he moved too fast. Alec had stopped letting him or Zack help a couple days ago, and he knew bringing up all of his injuries would lead to another fight. They'd been getting along fairly well, but sometimes he or Zack could say something that would set Alec off. He knew they still had a lot of issues to work out, but he really enjoyed the times they weren't arguing.

"I want out of this damn house," Alec snarled. "I'm tired of looking at the same four walls 24/7!"

"You could sit outside for a while…" Ben suggested, even though he knew Alec spent most of his time sitting on the porch, looking out at the stream.

Alec took a calming breath, and then said, "Ben, I would like to go to town with you guys. Please."

His resolve was crumbling; he didn't want Alec to feel like he was trapped here, he just wanted him to wait until he was completely healed before he went anywhere. "Alec…the truck doesn't have a backseat," Ben finally said, trying to find anything that would make Alec want to stay at the cabin.

"I'll sit in the middle," Alec said. "And this way the trip won't be so bad since I won't be able to move."

"We're only going to the store…nothing too exciting," Ben tried.

"Ben, c'mon, I won't do anything or draw any attention or…I don't know," Alec said, running his hand through his hair. "I just want to get out of here for a little bit."

He couldn't come up with any other reason why Alec couldn't come; it didn't help that he wanted Alec to come too. So, he finally nodded and said, "Yeah, alright, you can come." He couldn't help his smile as Alec's face lit up with joy.

"What's the hold up?" Zack asked in annoyance as he walked back into the cabin. "C'mon Ben, get your ass in gear."

"Alec's coming too," Ben muttered under his breath so maybe Zack wouldn't hear him.

"No," Zack instantly replied. Ben saw Alec's face fall, and he was about to argue for him to come with them, but Zack was already explaining himself. "Alec's still recovering. If we run into trouble, then he's going to get hurt worse and we'll get hurt trying to protect him."

"I don't need protecting!" Alec yelled.

"Alec, I found you passed out at the tree line yesterday," Zack said. "Your ribs are still bothering you and your gunshot wound needs time to heal. You haven't been on the road back to town yet while you were conscious, it's not a fun ride even for those who aren't recovering from injuries."

"I'm fine," Alec growled. "And I get to decide what I want to do. Like you said, I'm not at Manticore anymore, and you can't tell me what to do."

"I can kick you out of the truck," Zack threatened. "Or knock you out and leave you here."

"And when I wake up, I'll start walking to town," Alec stated.

"Zack, he said he'd ride in the middle," Ben said. "That will help with the jostling." He didn't like hearing that Alec had passed out again yesterday; he was trying to look out for his brother, but at the same time, give him space when he needed it. He didn't know how much concern he could show before he crossed the line. Sometimes Alec would let him help him, would let him tuck the blanket around him or let him check his wounds, and other times, Alec wouldn't let him or Zack get close to him. He wasn't sure what it was that set him off, but once he decided he didn't want help, then that was it. "I think he should come too."

Alec shot him a grateful look, which made him glad he decided to side with his brother. "If I'm about to pass out, I'll sit down or stay in the truck. I won't overdo it, I swear." Alec said.

"If you feel lightheaded _at all_ , you tell me or Ben, so we can get you somewhere safe, so we don't draw any attention, ok?" Zack asked. "We have to keep a low profile or else Manticore could find us."

Alec quickly nodded and said, "I promise I'll let you know."

"Fine. C'mon, we're losing daylight," Zack said.

Zack and Alec both walked outside, and he quickly followed. He didn't want to get left behind, and he wanted to make sure Alec could get into the truck without needing help. He was dreading this trip, but they needed more food and he knew Alec needed to get out of the cabin. _He_ needed to get out of the cabin, which meant Alec _really_ needed to get out of the cabin. But just because they both needed this, it didn't mean this ride was going to be easy.

Alec reached for his side as soon as they hit the first bump. He looked to his brother and saw that his jaw was clenched and his eyes were tightly shut. He wished that was going to be the worst bump, but this was an old, washed out mountain road with absolutely no traffic to smooth it out. This was going to be a nightmare.

He felt every bump, every pothole, every movement the truck made as if he was the one who was injured and not his brother. But he could practically feel his brother's pain, and it hurt him to know Alec was hurting. He wanted to make this better for him somehow, but he couldn't.

He caught Zack's eyes from across the truck when Alec leaned forward in pain. He hated the look that Zack was giving him; it was his 'I told you this was a bad idea, and now look what happened…' look. Zack was blaming him for Alec's pain, which he knew this was his fault, but Zack did have to call him out on it. He already felt bad enough without Zack heaping on the guilt.

"Alec, do you want me to turn back?" Zack asked, his voice soft.

He clenched his jaw; Zack was taking charge again, which was normally fine with him, actually better for him, but Alec was _his_ brother, not Zack's. He should be the one asking Alec if he wanted to turn back. He shook his head and tried to stamp down the jealousy rising within him. Zack was his brother and Alec was his brother, and he should want the two of them to get along. But out of the five days they had all been together, Alec and Zack hadn't gotten along so great and he was the middle man, the one who was on both sides and who was the common ground between them. He didn't want to lose his connection to both of them if they decided to be friends.

"No," Alec grunted, leaning back again. He'd lost all of his color again, making him look almost sick. And his face was coated in sweat from the pain he was trying to hold in.

"Alec, it's still going to be a while before we get to town," Ben tried. Maybe Alec would listen if it was coming from him instead of Zack. But even though they had found some kind of middle ground in the five days, Alec still wouldn't let him in, not completely.

"No, I'm fi-" Alec cut himself off by taking in a sharp breath of pain. Alec tried to curl in on himself, but he grabbed his brother's shoulders and eased him back against the seat again.

"Alec, that wouldn't help," Ben said. "Just lean against me, ok?"

He nearly breathed out in relief when Alec actually did lean against him. Alec's head dropped back to rest against his shoulder, and he wrapped his arm around his brother's back to try to lessen the impact of each of the bumps. He could tell Alec's fever was back, but maybe he could grab some medicine for his brother while they were in town.

He met Zack's eyes again, and nodded that everything was ok. He didn't really know if it was ok or not, but Alec's breathing was more under control now and his eyes were just closed instead of tightly shut. He still winced when they hit a bump, but he wasn't trying to pull away from him.

"Talk about something," Alec finally whispered. He and Zack looked at each other again, neither one sure what to talk about. It was pretty obvious that Alec was the talker in the group. He could easily fill the silence by asking questions or just going on about random things. The only time he wouldn't talk was when he was mad at them or when he was sleeping. But even those times had exceptions. "Stop looking at each other and talk," Alec said, interrupting the silence again.

"What should we talk about?" Ben finally asked.

Alec groaned and pushed himself up so he could glare at him. "Ben, you can talk about anything. What's the first thing that pops into your head?"

Ben shrugged, "I don't know…"

"You don't know? Seriously? You can talk about anything!" Alec said. "What are you thinking about right now?"

Alec's gaze never left his, so he huffed and said, "Honestly, I'm making a list of everything we need at the store. Most of which is medicine for you."

"Oh, c'mon Ben. You know I don't need medicine," Alec grumbled. Alec gasped suddenly as they hit an extremely rough patch, and held his side again.

"You wouldn't need medicine if you would just sit still for a while," Ben shot back. Alec's cry of pain pierced through him, and he immediately pulled his brother to him again. "How much further?" Ben asked Zack.

"Five more minutes," Zack said with regret. "Hang in there, Alec."

"Zack…" Ben said to get his brother's attention. He didn't want to mention the doctor in front of Alec, but he wanted to know what Zack thought. Zack was the one to bring up the doctor in the first place, but it was going to be an argument to get Alec there. Neither of them wanted to actually bring Alec to the doctor considering everything, but maybe this would make the trip worth it.

"I don't know," Zack muttered, glancing at Alec again.

"Whatever you two are talking about without saying, you should stop," Alec mumbled.

"Alec…there's a doctor in town," Ben started.

"No," Alec said, forcing himself up again and cutting him off before he could keep going. "I'm not going to see some doctor."

"Alec, it wouldn't hurt to see him," Ben tried. "Maybe he could give us some painkillers or something."

"No Ben," Alec stated. "I'm not going. Just go to the store and I'll sit here until I can get up."

"Alec-"

"Stop. I'm not going and that's final," Alec said.

He opened his mouth to try to argue some more, but Zack cut him off this time. "Ben, just drop it. We'll just go get what we need and Alec can regroup and catch up. We can eat at the diner or something before we make the trip back."

"Perfect," Alec said. "That sounds like a great plan."

He still didn't like it, but he would drop it for now. He knew doctors were off limits, but Zack said this guy wasn't anything like the doctors at Manticore. Hopefully Alec did just need a few minutes to regroup, but if he didn't meet them inside the store, then he was going to see the doctor whether he wanted to or not.

* * *

He was so relieved when Zack and Ben finally went into the store. He leaned his head back against the seat and finally let the pain show through. He actually whimpered as his abused body let him know exactly how stupid he was for coming on this trip. He should have just stayed home. He should have listened to Ben and Zack when they told him how rough that stupid road was. He just wanted to get out and see something different for a change. If he really was free from Manticore, then he wanted to see some things.

But his ribs were killing him and his gunshot wound felt like it was on fire. He was pushing too far and he knew it. He was trying so hard to be ok since it was ingrained in him that he _had_ to be ok. He needed to be the best or else they wouldn't need him anymore. He didn't want to be considered useless, to no longer be needed. It didn't help that he hadn't been able to do anything for five days. His knee had started to feel better, but that was it. He needed to be completely better so Ben and Zack actually wanted him to stick around.

He took a few shallow breaths before he stowed his pity party away and forced himself to sit up. He groaned; that movement did not feel good, but if he could just get out of the truck, then he knew he could make it to the store. He had to prove to them that he wasn't weak, that he could be counted on to actually do something.

He slowly scooted over to the passenger door, and it took more strength than he wanted to admit to open the door.

"Ok…you can do this. Just don't pass out," He said to himself, trying to give himself a pep-talk.

He couldn't pass out; he told Zack he wouldn't draw attention to himself and he wanted to prove that he could be trusted. He could do this one simple thing without being a complete screwup.

Except, he couldn't.

He pushed himself out of the truck, but his legs weren't ready to take on his weight. He immediately collapsed, landing hard on the pavement. His ribs made it very known that they didn't like this new treatment, but now his right elbow and his jaw was telling him the same thing.

"Hey, you ok?" Two hands accompanied the voice as they landed on his shoulder.

He quickly scrambled away from the help only to bash the back of his head against the side of the truck. "Dammit," he growled, trying to rub the spike of pain away. Zack was going to kill him. Not only did he injure himself further, just like he said he would, but he also drew attention to himself. He should've just stayed in the cabin…

"Easy son," the man said. He was an older man, with graying hair, and light blue eyes. "You took a pretty hard fall, it looks like."

"I'm alright," Alec mumbled, batting the man's hand away from him.

The guy's eyebrows rose in surprise as he said, "Usually people who're bleeding aren't really alright."

He looked down at his shirt to see if he'd popped his stitches, and groaned when he saw his blood staining his shirt. "You gotta be kidding me…"

"C'mon, I can get ya fixed up," the man said, standing up, and then holding out his hand to him.

"My brother's inside…he'll freak out if I don't show up in about five minutes," Alec said, ignoring the man's hand. He hadn't known Ben long, but he knew enough to know he would throw a fit if he just suddenly disappeared. He couldn't do that to him, especially since he was always so nice to him. He didn't want to return the favor by doing the one thing that scared Ben the most.

"Which will be worse, you not showing up, or you showing up covered in blood?" The man asked.

"Both," Alec answered with a small smirk.

The man chuckled and nodded, "Alright, let's get you back in the truck. I've got some first aid supplies in my car, and then I can go find your brother and tell him where we're going."

"I'm not going anywhere," Alec said as firmly as he could. He also wasn't going to let this guy patch him up. He had a gunshot wound, and that would draw attention and bring on one million questions. He wasn't going to let that happen no matter what.

The man raised his hand in surrender and said, "Ok, we don't have to go anywhere. What's your name?"

He hesitated before he finally answered, "Alec."

"Alec, my name's Caleb," he said. "You ready to move?"

"How 'bout I just sit here while you go get whatever you're getting," Alec suggested. He didn't want to move. He wanted to stay right where he was and never move again. But he knew that wasn't going to happen.

"What does your brother look like? I'll just go find him, and then get ya fixed up," Caleb said.

Relieved that he had a few more seconds to rest he said, "Just look for the guy that looks exactly like me. But don't let him come out here, ok? Just make something up and don't tell him I got hurt again."

Caleb patted his leg and nodded his agreement. He rested his head back against the metal of the truck, but quickly lifted his head again when it hurt. He'd already forgotten about hitting the back of his head.

Part of him wanted to disappear before Caleb came back, but the other part knew Ben would not take it well if he saw him like this. He would just get cleaned up, and then be good as new. They didn't have to know he had a face to face introduction with the ground again. They could just get what they needed, and then go back to the cabin.

Dread filled him though when he realized he was in for another excruciating ride back to the cabin. Why the Hell had he insisted on coming into town with them again?

"Alec, what happened?" Ben suddenly asked.

He jumped; he hadn't even heard him approach and his eyes must have closed at some point. "I just…You were right, I shouldn't have come," Alec said instead of giving an explanation.

"Alec, you're bleeding again," Ben said in concern. He crouched down in front of him and gently gripped his jaw to get a better look. "What happened?"

"I just fell when I got out of the truck," Alec admitted. "It's no big deal."

He expected Ben to go off and tell him that this was exactly why he should have stayed at the cabin. He thought maybe Ben would look at him like he was weak and just leave him on the pavement or tell him 'I told you so.' But Ben didn't do any of that. "Is it ok if I help you up?" Ben asked softly.

He nodded, caught off guard from Ben's reaction. But he tried to shake it off and said, "Yeah, um, the ground isn't as comfortable as it looks."

Ben cracked a smile and carefully helped him up. He managed to hold in his groan at the movement, and he was actually relieved at the help. Without Ben, he probably would have just collapsed again. "Caleb's coming back with a first aid kit," Ben reassured.

"Does Zack know?" Alec couldn't help asking. For some reason, he didn't want to disappoint Zack. He didn't really have any tie to him, but Ben considered him as a brother, so he wanted to try to get along with him. But if he found out about this, then Zack would never trust him.

"No, he didn't see me leave," Ben said. "Caleb just found me and tried to explain what happened…and I kinda freaked out and ran…" He smiled without meaning to, but it felt really good to have someone actually care about him. "Shit…" Ben suddenly breathed out.

"What? What's wrong?" Alec asked, worried that something had happened to Ben.

"Your stitches," Ben said, looking down at his shirt.

"It's fine," Alec said. He was relieved it wasn't something that was wrong with Ben. He could deal with his popped stitches. "I won't let Caleb see it. I'll just grab some gauze and try to keep pressure on it until we get back."

"That's not what I'm worried about, Alec," Ben said in exasperation.

"Ok then…what's the problem?" Alec asked.

"Here we go," Caleb suddenly interrupted, walking back over to them. "I think I've got everything we need right here." He opened the kit and put on a pair of disposable gloves before he reached towards his shirt.

He caught the man's wrist and quipped, "Let's not get handsy here. We barely even know each other."

"Son, you've got blood on your shirt that didn't come from falling out of the truck," Caleb said. "Just let me take a look."

"What are you, some kind of doctor?" Alec asked sarcastically. Caleb didn't answer, which told him everything he needed to know. "Nope. I'm done. Thanks, but I don't need your help."

"Alec, just let him help you," Ben begged at the same time Caleb said, "I just want to check you over. I won't do anything else."

"No Ben. I told you I wasn't going to see the doctor," Alec stated, glaring at his brother.

"I haven't been a doctor in eight years," Caleb cut in before Ben could say anything. "So technically, I'm just a citizen who stopped to try to help."

"Please," Ben begged.

"Ben," Alec stressed. "This can be taken care of _later_."

"Whatever it is, you don't have to worry about me getting anyone else involved," Caleb reassured. "I'll just take care of it, and that'll be it."

He looked to Ben, which was a mistake because obviously he wanted him to get looked over by this guy. "Alright, fine. But don't freak out, no questions, and don't call anyone because…it's been taken care of…"

Caleb gave him a funny look, but then shrugged and nodded. "Ok, so let me see what I'm working with here." He let Caleb lift his shirt and pull the gauze from his skin. He studied Caleb's face as he scanned his bullet wound, but the older man didn't even flinch. "I know you said no questions, but how long ago did you get this?"

"Just stitch it up," Alec growled.

"Alright, just let me give you a local anesthetic to numb the area," Caleb said.

"No," Alec stated. "Either stitch it up or leave me alone."

Caleb took a deep breath, debating whether he should just cut out now while he still could, or risk it by helping him. Finally making his decision, Caleb grabbed a suture kit and began the meticulous task of stitching his skin back together.

Ben's eyes were glued to Caleb's work, taking in every stitch and making sure he didn't miss anything. He could tell Ben wished he was the one stitching him up so he would know for sure there wouldn't be any mistakes, but his brother also wanted a professional to check him over. Ben was way overreacting about his health, but he couldn't always tell Ben to back off. No one had ever worried about him, so it was hard to accept the concern suddenly coming his way, but at the same time, almost impossible to try to get rid of. It felt nice having Ben, and even Zack, around to watch out for him. But he didn't like seeing the worried look that had taken over Ben's face as he watched the man work.

"Did you get everything?" Alec asked his brother to get his attention on something other than him. Ben's gaze snapped up to meet his eyes, but he could tell Ben had no idea what he was talking about. "At the store…did you get everything?" Alec asked again.

"Oh, um, I think Zack's getting everything. I was just looking around," Ben said.

"Anything interesting?" Alec asked. He wasn't sure what all would be in the store besides food, but maybe there was something worth looking at.

Ben shrugged though and said, "It's mostly just food. Nothing to really look at."

Ben's gaze suddenly shifted to the store where a man about their age walked out. He saw Ben frown and his eyes turned cold. His own eyes widened, having never seen Ben look even a tiny bit dangerous, but now he could see what Zack must have been worried about. He nudged his brother and tried, "Hey, what's so important? I'm still bleeding here…For the past few days that's all I've heard about, right?"

"Yeah…" Ben automatically answered, his eyes never leaving the man who was now walking towards his car.

"Ben," Alec stressed. "Hey, what's going on?" He didn't even care that Caleb was right there, holding onto every word he said, taking in everything that was happening.

"He stole some candy," Ben muttered. "I saw him."

"So? Someone else will take care of it," Alec said.

"Alec…you wouldn't understand," Ben said.

His brother pulled away from him suddenly and started walking across the parking lot, towards the man. "Ben!" He called out, trying to stop him. When that didn't work, he immediately tried to stand up, but Caleb's hand against his chest stopped him. "Get off," Alec growled dangerously. He had to stop Ben before he crossed the line, before he did something that would draw attention and make things even more complicated. Besides, he had one job to do now, which was watch out for Ben. He had to do this or else he really was useless.

"Alec, I'm not even done stitching you up yet," Caleb said.

"How many more?" Alec asked, his voice urgent.

"Three more," Caleb said.

"Hurry up," Alec said. He quickly looked away from the man to try and pinpoint his brother's location again. Ben was already at the guy's car, and he knew he was going to be too late to stop him. But he still had to try.

"Ok, you're all stitched up, but-"

He pushed past Caleb and ran to where the guy's car was, the door open, but nobody there. Distantly he could hear Caleb yelling after him, but he only had one goal right now and that was to find his brother. He scanned the parking lot and finally spotted Ben dragging the guy towards the woods. Obviously, the guy was unconscious, if not dead already, but he could still catch up before Ben disappeared completely into the woods.

"Ben, stop!" Alec shouted, still trying to catch up. Thankfully, Ben did stop and looked back at him in surprise. "Please, you gotta stop…" He was out of breath, desperately holding his side to try to ease the pain shooting through him, but he had to do this. He _had_ to make Ben see reason.

"Alec!" Ben said in alarm. "You should've stayed with Caleb."

"Did you kill him?" Alec asked, ignoring what Ben had said. The man was lying limp behind Ben, but he couldn't tell if he was still breathing or not.

"Alec, you wouldn't understand," Ben said, turning away from him and grabbing the man's arms. He hauled him up and rested his back against the closest tree. "I have to do this."

"Why? Because he stole something?" Alec asked, trying to keep his voice calm. "Who cares? He'll get caught sooner or later."

"No. I need to know you and Zack will be safe, and this is the only way," Ben said.

"It's not," Alec argued. "C'mon, we can work this out. You don't need to kill someone to try to make sure we'll be safe. That's what…that's what a unit is for, right? While you're on a mission, your unit is the one that watches your back. Well, I'm your brother, right? So that means we're a unit. We look out for each other and keep each other safe." He had no idea where any of this was coming from, but if it got through to Ben, then that's all that mattered. He would ignore the fact that it did actually make sense.

Ben pulled a few zip ties from his pocket and tied the man's hands together, and then his feet before he forced the man's knees to his chest and zip tied them both together so he couldn't move. "Alec…"

"Please," Alec begged. "Please, just cut him loose. We can leave him here, he'll wake up, and we'll go back to the cabin."

"I can't," Ben replied brokenly.

He reached out and gently gripped Ben's shoulder. "You can. I know you can."

Ben searched his face, seemingly searching for answers to something he didn't even know how to ask. But then finally, Ben nodded and said, "Ok…ok, I hear you."

He smiled just a little and said, "Good, 'cause I'm not sure how much longer I can stay on my feet…"

Ben's eyes widened in alarm, "Ok, you start walking back to the truck and I'll cut him free."

He nodded his agreement, and slowly started back to the truck. He wanted to look back and make sure Ben was doing what he said he would, but he wanted to believe his brother, believe that he would do the right thing and let the guy go.

Ben ran up to him a few seconds later, wrapping his arm around his waist in silent support. He immediately put his arm around Ben's shoulders, accepting his brother's help and showing that he actually appreciated it.

It took everything he had not to look back at the unconscious man they had left behind, but he knew if Ben hadn't let him go, then he would probably sneak away first chance he got. He'd just have to be on the lookout for what his brother was doing, and try to prevent him from making a terrible mistake.

* * *

 _Sorry there's not much Zack in this chapter, but next one should have more with the three of them. Hope you guys still like it. More soon..._


	4. Chapter 4

"Everything ok?" Caleb hesitantly asked as they slowly walked back. His brother was losing energy fast, but he was pretty sure he could get him in the truck before he passed out. His worry for Alec was currently outweighing his need to return to the woods.

Seeing the man in the store stuffing candy into his pocket had been a dream come true. This man was the answer to everything. He needed to keep Alec with him, keep his siblings safe, and keep Manticore from find them and now he had a way to do that. He could make this one little sacrifice and erase all of his problems.

But first, he had to get Alec checked out and back to the cabin. Tonight he could take care of the man from the store. Alec would be too worn out to stop him, so he wouldn't have to worry about him, but he had to figure something out for Zack. Maybe Zack would actually sleep tonight since he'd been too worried to really sleep the past few nights. He'd been keeping watch, making sure Manticore hadn't found them, even though it would be hard to find them way out here. Zack just always worried about that, even if it was impossible.

"Yeah, just thought a little run would be nice," Alec said, his voice weak.

"Alright, let's get you sitting down again," Caleb said. He reached out to help him get Alec back into the truck, and Alec let them help him. "Ok Alec, I'm just going to clean up your elbow and your jaw, double check your stitches, and tape some gauze over them. Then I'll be done."

"I'm alright," Alec breathed out. But he tipped back suddenly, and would have hit the seat if he hadn't caught him.

"Alec, just let Caleb look you over, and then we'll be back to the cabin in no time," Ben reassured.

Alec groaned though and shook his head, "I can't believe I talked my way into this…" Ben rubbed Alec's back, even though he was pretty sure his time for comforting his brother was almost over. But Alec didn't pull away from him or tell him to stop, so he didn't.

Caleb started to check Alec over, and he tried to focus, to pay attention to what was going on with his brother, but his attention drifted to the woods. The man was still there, was still zip tied just the way he left him, and he would still be there tonight. He wouldn't be unconscious, so he would have a fighting chance to get away from him. Contrary to what Zack believed, he hadn't killed that other man in cold blood. He'd given him a chance, but he wasn't worthy enough to beat him. But he was worthy for a sacrifice, same as this man.

"Hey," Alec said, startling him from his thoughts again. He turned to look at his brother who asked, "Um, my jaw…is it bleeding or just bruised?"

"Bleeding," Ben answered. "Same with your elbow."

"I'm gonna need another shirt," Alec said. "Since, y'know, I only have two…and it'll look funny walking around with blood on my shirt."

He nodded; he hadn't even thought about that, but Alec was right. "I'll run inside and see if they have anything…"

"Ok good," Alec said. "And see if Zack will get me any candy."

He smiled without meaning to, but then asked, "You sure you'll be ok?" He felt stupid for asking that; Alec was an X5 just like him, he'd been through way worse than he could ever imagine, a gunshot wound, some broken ribs…that was a cake walk compared to what he'd probably been through before. Alec didn't need him here to comfort him.

"Yeah, but hurry up 'cause I'm afraid Caleb's gonna try to kidnap me," Alec said with a small smirk. He felt great knowing that Alec wanted him to come back. He'd figured out a few days ago that Alec was uncomfortable showing how he really felt, but would tell you in his own way. This was his way of telling him that he didn't really want to be left alone, but he'd be ok until he got back.

"Ok, I'll be quick," Ben reassured.

Alec nodded, so he practically ran back to the store. Before he was too far though, he heard Caleb say, "I'm not gonna kidnap you."

"I know…I just don't know how to say things the right way…" Alec muttered back. "I just wanna make sure he comes back…"

He picked up his pace knowing for sure that Alec wanted him to stick around. He ran inside, and scanned the area to try and find if there was any clothing available. He finally spotted a rack of tourist t-shirts that said things like 'Quilcene, Washington', 'Olympic National Forest', 'Famous Quilcene oysters,' with mountains showcased on the shirts. He grabbed one of the shirts with the town name on it, in Alec's size, and then turned for the register. He didn't have much money on him, but he could afford the shirt and some candy for Alec. He would have to get a job in town soon, so he and Alec would have a way to buy food when Zack left.

"Hey, what's the shirt for?" Zack asked, walking up behind him.

He jumped and turn towards his brother. "Um, Alec's only got two shirts…thought he should have another one…" He didn't want to tell Zack that Alec had fallen out of the truck and gotten hurt. Alec didn't want Zack to know, so he didn't want him to know either. He was pretty sure Zack wouldn't get mad, but he wanted to delay him from knowing for as long as possible. Zack would know as soon as he saw Alec, but he didn't want to just tell him.

Zack nodded and said, "Good thinking. I'll run by the thrift shop and pick him up some more clothes before we head back."

"I was going to get him some candy too…" Ben said, refusing to meet Zack's gaze. He knew it would be a waste of money to get Alec some candy, but he wanted to get this one thing for his brother. Alec deserved some candy; it was the least he could do for him.

"Ben…"

"I was going to pay for it," Ben cut off. "It's the one thing he asked for, and I think he deserves to have some candy."

Zack took a deep breath, and finally asked, "What kind does he want?"

Now he was caught off guard; Zack was agreeing to get Alec candy, but now he had no idea what to get him. He didn't know if Alec liked chocolate more or gummies, if he liked peanuts or plain chocolate, sour or sweet candy…he was going to completely screw this up. Maybe he should just run outside again and ask Alec what he wanted. But he knew if he did that, then he wouldn't come back to the store. It was hard enough to leave the first two times; he couldn't do it again.

"Um, chocolate," he answered. "Just some kind of chocolate."

Zack grabbed a regular Hershey's chocolate bar and said, "Can't go wrong with this, right?" He gave his brother a small smile and nodded back in reply. "So, I've got all the food for you guys…anything else on the list?" Zack asked.

"I don't think so…" Ben said. He was so used to living alone, he didn't really know what else they needed.

"Ok, let's checkout, and then catch up with Alec," Zack said as he headed for the register. "I'm surprised he hasn't made it inside yet…" He could tell 'surprised' wasn't the word Zack wanted to use; he was probably either concerned or worried, but didn't want to show it. Zack and Alec had a very tense relationship, but they were both trying to get along. At least most of the time.

He was dreading going back outside. He didn't know if Caleb had finished checking Alec over or not, but either way Zack was going to know something happened. He needed to come clean now so everything didn't fall on Alec. Zack would be mad no matter what, but he should be mad at him, not Alec.

"Ben, what's going on?" Zack asked when he didn't say anything.

"Alec fell out of the truck," Ben said in a rush. "He's ok, a guy named Caleb who used to be a doctor is looking him over, but he didn't want you to know because he thought you'd be mad. But I went and checked on him, and he really is ok, just a little banged up. He tore his stitches again and hit his jaw and elbow pretty hard on the ground, but that was it. He's just bleeding a little bit, but Caleb was going to clean him up."

He held his breath as Zack took in everything he said. He didn't look mad, but that could change at any second. Not only had Alec gotten hurt, he'd also drawn enough attention to bring a stranger over to him. Zack didn't want them drawing any attention, so he was going to be mad about that, and the whole reason he wanted Alec to stay at the cabin was because he was too injured to make the trip.

Zack suddenly started walking again and he quickly moved to keep up. Zack handed the man behind the counter their basket of food before he grabbed the t-shirt for Alec and added it to the pile. "You're sure he's ok?" Zack asked once the man started ringing him up.

"Yeah, the guy that saw him fall, Caleb, he used to be a doctor and he's looking him over," Ben said.

"But he tore his stitches again?" Zack asked without looking over at him.

"Caleb put the stitches back in," Ben quietly admitted.

He could practically feel Zack's heated gaze turn towards him, but he refused to shift his eyes away from the floor. _"Caleb put the stitches back in?!"_ Zack hissed in barely contained outrage.

"He didn't make a big deal about it," Ben defended. "And Alec was bleeding bad enough to bleed through the gauze and his shirt. He needed the stitches replaced and we didn't have any supplies in the truck. _And_ Alec would have just laid on the ground by himself until we got back if Caleb hadn't been there. Caleb came and got me so I would know what happened, and I think it's great that he's able to check Alec over. We wanted Alec to get checked over by a doctor, and now he is."

Zack looked surprised by his outburst, and honestly, he was too, but he had to defend his brother. Alec had agreed to the help, and that's what they had wanted. He wasn't going to be mad at him, or let Zack be mad at him, for that. It wasn't Alec's fault that he'd fallen out of the truck, he should have been there to help him in the first place, but now at least he was getting help from someone who had been a professional, not him or Zack. Their training was just quick patches in the field, and what they had to pick up since then. They didn't know what they were doing.

"You're right," Zack said after another minute. "We wanted Alec to see a doctor, so I shouldn't be mad."

He nodded, but then asked, "So, you won't yell at him when we get out there, right?"

Zack took a deep breath and let it out before he said, "I won't yell at him."

"Good," Ben said with a small nod.

Zack grabbed some of the bags after he paid, and he grabbed the rest so they could leave. He looked for his brother as soon as he was outside, and was relieved to see him leaning against the truck door, with Caleb standing beside him. His eyes slid from his brother, back to the woods where he'd left the man. He hadn't thought about the man the entire time he'd been in the store. He'd been defending Alec, and hadn't thought about anything else. But now he remembered, and he couldn't wait until night fell and he could ensure his brothers' safety.

* * *

"Here it comes…" Alec muttered under his breath. He'd been hoping that Ben would come out by himself so he could change and Zack would never have to know what happened. But he couldn't hide the blood on his shirt, or really the scratch on his jaw, but he at least wanted to try.

It didn't help that Caleb still wouldn't leave. He'd tried to tell the man that he was fine, that he would just sit in the truck until his brother came back, but Caleb wanted to make sure Ben came back so he wouldn't be alone. He'd be touched at the concern if he didn't find it so annoying.

"You're worried about…Zack? Right?" Caleb asked, his eyes watching Ben and Zack as they walked across the parking lot towards them.

"Yeah…he's…I don't know," Alec said. He didn't want to talk to this guy about how complicated things were. He wanted Zack to like him, but at the same time he couldn't help get under the guy's skin. He made it so easy to get him mad, and he couldn't help it. He knew Ben wanted them to get along, but they were two very different people. Zack needed everything to be in order and refused to budge, but he really liked his new lifestyle even if it was a little boring. He didn't _have_ to do anything if he didn't want to. He could lay in bed all day or walk over to the stream or really anything if he wanted. He didn't have to do drills or eat at a certain time or have someone yell in his face if he stepped out of line…He really liked being out of Manticore, even if he wouldn't admit it out loud. He still missed knowing what was expected of him, but he was slowly figuring things out. At least with Ben he was.

"He'll understand," Caleb said. "Older brother, right?"

He smirked, "Technically…" Ben thought of Zack as his older brother, and he was Ben's brother, so that meant Zack could be his older brother. But that was weird to think about.

"Older brothers are protective," Caleb said. "He's just worried about you, that's all."

"Not so sure on that one…" Alec mumbled.

"You're the youngest, aren't you," Caleb guessed.

"Me and Ben are twins," Alec said like it was obvious.

Caleb chuckled, "I kind of guessed as much. But you seem younger."

"How'd you know?" Alec asked. Ben was 493 and he was 494, so obviously he was younger, but he couldn't figure out how Caleb knew. Maybe he did something that made him seem younger, but he couldn't think of what it could be that clued him in.

"I told you, older brothers are protective, especially over the youngest," Caleb said. "The youngest is the baby of the family, and big brothers take it very seriously to protect the youngest. The problem is, the youngest is usually the most reckless, which makes it harder on the older brothers, so they worry more."

"How do you know all this?" Alec asked, confused at this insight into family life that he would've never known otherwise.

"Takes a youngest to know one," Caleb said. "And I know those looks that are on Ben and Zack's faces. That's just worry that I'm seeing."

"I hope you're right…" Alec said. "Not really up to having my ass chewed out again."

"I think you'll be surprised," Caleb said, gently patting his shoulder.

He still braced himself for the lecture he assumed was coming. But instead, he watched as Zack put the bags he was carrying in the bed of the truck before he turned to him. Zack reached out and gently turned his face so he could see his jaw. "You ok?" Zack asked.

"Yeah, just took a nose dive outta the truck," Alec said with a shrug.

"Here, let's get you into a clean shirt," Zack said, instantly moving to Ben and grabbing a brand-new shirt. He struggled to get the shirt he was wearing over his head, but then Zack and Ben were both there, carefully guiding his arms through the fabric. He felt ridiculous since they were helping him with something so simple, but he was also grateful for the help. He didn't have to do anything as they both got the new shirt over his head, and his arms in the sleeves. Zack held the hem of the shirt up though, and gently pulled the gauze from his skin.

"Caleb already put in the stitches," Alec said.

"I'm just double checking," Zack replied, running a feather light finger over the line of new stitches.

He shot a look over to Caleb, and saw that the older man was smirking. He felt his cheeks heat in embarrassment, and quickly looked away.

"Alec, do you want to take some medicine? I think your fever's back," Ben said, mistaking his red cheeks as the fever's return. Ben even reached out and put the back of his hand against his forehead while Zack put his hand against his side.

"He does feel warmer…" Zack muttered.

"I'm alright," Alec grumbled.

"Here ya go," Caleb said, suddenly drawing the attention to him. The three of them all looked over to the older man in unison to see that he was holding two pill bottles in his hand. "One is painkillers, the other is antibiotics. Use both, ok? Especially the antibiotics. Make sure you take those until the bottle is empty. You're fighting off an infection, and these will help."

He could feel Zack and Ben's concerned looks, but he shrugged them off and muttered, "Thanks a lot…"

"Anytime," Caleb said with a smile. "And come see me again, ok? I live down on the water, first houseboat on the left. And I volunteer in the clinic three days a week. If I don't see you next week, then I'm gonna come looking, you hear? That's a serious injury you have, and it's important to keep an eye on it."

"Yes sir," Alec automatically replied. It was the command in the man's voice that provoked his reaction. It was ingrained in him to respond to commands, and that wasn't going to stop just because he was out of Manticore.

Caleb patted his back and smiled, "Good. I'll be seein' you boys soon then."

"Thanks Caleb," Ben said.

Caleb reached out and shook Ben's hand and nodded to Zack. "Make sure he takes those, ok? That'll help with his fever."

Zack and Ben both nodded, and Caleb waved to them all as he walked towards the store. He'd forgotten that Caleb had been doing something before he'd completely embarrassed himself. But he was grateful for Caleb's help, and thought he might actually visit him in the future.

"C'mon, let's get you back in the truck," Zack said, breaking him from his thoughts. "You can take some pills and Ben will stay with you while I find the thrift shop."

He didn't have enough strength left to argue. It was taking everything he had to just keep up his act of being ok, of leaning against the truck, and trying to convey a casual lean instead a necessary one. Zack gently took the pills from him and popped the caps off, tipping two pills into the palm of his hand while Ben opened the truck door and grabbed a bottle of water. He took the pills without complaint and accepted the help into the truck.

He never thought the dingy interior of the old truck would be a welcome sight, but it was to his overtaxed body. He slid to the middle of the seat and rested his head back against the window. He winced as the back of his head made contact with the glass, but he was too tired to move.

"Keep an eye on him. I'll be back soon," Zack said to Ben. Someone patted his chest suddenly, and his eyes flew open in surprise to see Zack leaning into the truck. "Easy, it's just me," Zack said. "I'm going to get some clothes, but Ben's gonna stay with you. Try to sleep, ok? That ride's gonna be Hell on you again…"

"I'll be alright," Alec mumbled.

His head dropped back again, but then someone was shifting him, leaning him against themselves. He was too tired to complain, or to even try to pull away. "It's ok, Alec. I've got you," Ben whispered, guiding his head from the glass and onto his brother's shoulder. He felt like a child, but he didn't care. This was more comfortable than the window, and he was pretty sure he couldn't lift his head even if he wanted to.

"Hey Ben?" Alec asked, his voice slurring with sleep. He could tell the painkillers were kicking in because his side wasn't screaming at him anymore.

"Yeah?" Ben asked back.

"Don't go anywhere, ok?" Alec asked softly. He knew wouldn't be able to stay awake for much longer, which meant he wouldn't be able to stop his brother if he decided to run back to the woods. He had to make sure Ben didn't leave him. Not to mention if Ben left him, he really would be alone. He wasn't in any condition to watch his own back, so he needed to trust Ben to do it for him.

"I'm not going anywhere, Alec," Ben whispered.

* * *

"Ben, wake up," Zack whispered, gently shaking his brother's shoulder. Both Alec and Ben had been asleep, leaning against each other, when he'd gotten back to the truck, and had slept the entire trip back. Alec had winced a few times on the way back, but then Ben's arms would tighten around him and his breathing would even out again. They were back at the cabin now, and Alec needed to get back in bed. His ribs had to be killing him, especially with the way he was sleeping now. "Ben," Zack said again, shaking his shoulder just a little harder.

He was just going to carry Alec inside, but he had to get Ben to let go of his brother before he did that.

"What?" Ben asked sleepily. "What's going on?"

"We're here," Zack said. "I gotta get Alec inside." He'd already taken in the food and clothes he had bought, now he just needed to get Alec and Ben in the cabin.

"Oh…" Ben muttered, but he still didn't move.

"C'mon, you gotta let go of Alec before I can move him," Zack urged.

"Oh," Ben said again, slowly unwrapping his arms from around Alec.

Alec groaned at the sudden loss and turned towards Ben. It was in their DNA to need someone, to need a unit, and he felt jealousy spike again that Ben and Alec were actually a unit. They got to stick together while he had to move on, had to check on everyone else and couldn't stay, couldn't belong somewhere. "Alec, c'mon, we're at the cabin. If you wake up, then I won't carry you," Zack bargained.

"Where're we?" Alec slurred.

"We're at the cabin," Zack replied, reassured that Alec had woken up, but concerned that he didn't know where they were. He reached over to Alec and held him up so Ben could get out. Alec's head tipped back without Ben's support, so he quickly moved one of his hands to the back of Alec's head to help him. "I gotcha," Zack whispered.

He hated how Alec typically didn't seem to take things seriously. He wanted to do whatever he wanted, and didn't care that there were rules in place for a reason. Like today, he wanted to go to town, he'd said no because it was too risky, Alec didn't care and went anyway. He hated it because he wished he could be so laidback about things, but he was the oldest, he was in charge of his unit, in charge of making sure his siblings stayed alive. He couldn't just let things go and relax like Alec could.

But as much as he hated Alec's attitude about most things, he wouldn't change it for the world. Ben was entirely too serious most of the time, and Alec was the complete opposite, so it was going to be a good balance. And he had to admit, Alec lightened things up. An argument could easily be forgotten with just a few words from him, which made the small quarters easier to live with. Jealousy still spiked in him every once in a while, when Ben and Alec had a secret joke and just knew what the other was thinking, but he really was glad he'd gotten Alec out of Manticore.

He pulled Alec closer to himself, and then slid his arms under his shoulders and knees, making sure his head was resting against his own shoulder. "I gotcha," Zack reassured again even though Alec was out of it. He moved from the truck, with Alec securely in his hold, and slowly started for the cabin, careful not to jostle Alec too much. "Ben, you coming?" Zack asked, glancing back at his brother, who was still frozen on his side of the truck.

Ben shook himself and nodded, "Yeah…I'm coming."

"Good, because I'll need you to get the door," Zack said.

Ben smiled and ran ahead to get the door so he could bring Alec inside. He turned so he didn't hit Alec's legs against the door, and then walked over to Alec's bed and gently laid him down. He adjusted Alec's arms so he wasn't lying on them, and rested one of his hands on his chest and the other on his stomach before he pulled the covers over Alec.

He couldn't help running his hand through Alec's hair, feeling suddenly very protective over the X5 he had rescued from Manticore. Alec had a chance at life now, had a chance to live and be free. Alec had looked so lifeless when he'd broken into his cell, but he didn't know anyone who really had more life. Alec vibrated energy; the fact that he was still right now was very strange. Even though he was hurt, it was impossible to keep him on the bed, keep him from exploring or walking around. Every night, Alec would practically collapse in exhaustion from doing so much in one day.

"Zack…everything ok?" Ben asked hesitantly.

He quickly withdrew his hand and nodded, "Yeah, fine. It's just weird seeing him so still."

Ben nodded in agreement, but then said, "You don't have to leave. I know you and Alec don't get along so great, but…I want you to stay."

It hurt to know he had to disappoint Ben; he had to hurt his little brother to check on the rest of his siblings, but he couldn't ignore his responsibility. Besides, Ben had Alec now, he wouldn't need him after this. Alec would watch out for his little brother, and he could count on Ben to watch out for Alec. Because even though he didn't want to admit it, he still wanted Alec kept safe too, and not just because he was helping him out.

"You know I can't," Zack finally said. "But Alec's going to stick around, so you won't have to be alone anymore."

"Alec would want you to stay too," Ben muttered.

"Ben, I've gotta check on everyone else," Zack said. "I can't just abandon them."

Ben turned away from him and whispered, "I understand…"

"I would stay if I could, you know that, right?" Zack asked. Ben just nodded, and walked to his bed. "Maybe some day we can all stick together again," Zack said. "It's just too dangerous right now. If we were all together and Manticore found us…no one would be free."

"I know," Ben said. "I just wish things were different."

"Alec's going to stay," Zack said again. "And I'll still come around to check on you guys. Probably even more than the others."

"I'm gonna go ahead and go to sleep," Ben said.

"I'm not leaving for a few more days," Zack said, trying to ignore the ache in his heart at disappointing Ben again. "I wanna make sure you guys are set up and that Alec's really ok." Ben just nodded, and laid down with his back to him. He had to remember that Ben wasn't his only brother. He had more than one sibling he had to look after, and he had a responsibility to take care of them too. But he would be back to check on Alec and Ben more often than he usually checked on each sibling. Ben was sensitive and had an imagination, he needed to be protected, kept safe from this world, as much as possible. He was just going to have to trust Alec to keep his brother safe while he couldn't.

* * *

He didn't know why he woke up, maybe it was instinct or maybe he heard something in his sleep, but he did wake up from his exhausted sleep. It took him a minute to figure out where he was, but there was no mistaking the small, dark, yet cozy space. He was back at the cabin, lying in his bed with the covers pulled over him.

His eyes adjusted to the dark room, so he slowly sat up and looked around for Ben and Zack. He looked over to other bed, expecting to see Ben sleeping there, but instead the covers were bunched down at the end of the bed, and there was just an imprint of where Ben used to be instead of his brother. He rubbed his eyes to make sure he was seeing what he thought he was, but the sight didn't change, his brother didn't reappear, sleeping soundly beside him.

Unwilling to let himself panic, he slowly stood up and walked over to the sofa where Zack usually slept. Maybe Zack and Ben went on a run to get rid of some energy, or maybe they went out to get more firewood, he shouldn't panic until he had all the information. But there was still a warm glow from the embers of the fire and Zack was asleep, stretched across the sofa with his face pressed into his pillow.

He walked around the sofa, and gently shook Zack's shoulder to try and get him to wake up. "Zack…" Alec tried, hoping Zack would recognize his voice and wouldn't try and attack him.

Luckily, he was ready for the fist that suddenly flew at his face. He would've reacted the same way had the roles been reversed; Manticore had taught them to follow their gut instinct, and their gut instinct was to always protect themselves first before anything else. He easily caught Zack's wrist, and then using his momentum against him, and using his instincts, he pulled Zack from the sofa, rolled him over his back where he landed hard on the floor.

Zack instantly sprang up into a defensive stance, which he immediately copied. His ribs protested his movement, but he wasn't going to let Zack get the jump on him, even if he didn't know where he was.

"Zack, chill," Alec said slowly, trying his best to use his most soothing voice that he had. "It's just me, um, Alec, who you broke out of Manticore, remember?"

Zack dropped his stance as soon as he realized where he was, and his eyes widened in concern. "Alec, did I hit you? Are you hurt?" Zack asked in a rush, walking over to him and gently gripping his shoulders.

"I'm alright," Alec reassured. "But Ben's gone."

"What?" Zack asked, frowning in confusion.

"Ben's gone. There was this thief at the store who he knocked out and zip tied out in the woods. I tried to talk him down, and I thought maybe I got through to him, but I guess I didn't," Alec said as fast as he could. "We gotta go. Right now."

Thankfully, Zack didn't argue with him. He took off for the door, but then froze once he was outside. Unfortunately, he had taken off after Zack, but hadn't seen him stop so he ran right into his back and lost his balance. He was just about to meet the ground for the second time that day, but his decent was stopped suddenly by Zack's arms wrapping around him and pulling him upright again.

"You good?" Zack asked.

"Yeah, fine," Alec replied.

"Ok, stay here," Zack said, "I'll find him."

He scowled, "No. No way! You can't just take off without me! This is the whole reason you got me out of Manticore, right? So, let me help."

"Alec, the truck's gone," Zack said. "Which means I've gotta run to get to Ben. I know normally you'd be the best one to go after Ben, but not right now. You need to stay here."

"You don't know where he's at," Alec said, refusing to be side-lined even though he knew it was probably better. But this was his mission, his responsibility. This was his chance to prove to Zack that he didn't waste his time getting him out of Manticore. He could prove that he could do this. But it didn't help that he had already admitted that he'd failed; he could have stopped this, but he hadn't gotten through to Ben like he thought he did.

It didn't matter though, because he was going. He was doing this.

"Alec-"

He pushed Zack hard, forcing him out of the door and onto the porch. Zack was completely thrown off guard, he hadn't been ready for the sudden shove, so he wasn't ready for him to make a mad dash past him. He took off down the rough path, but then quickly veered off to the steeper part of the mountain. A tree limb smacked him in the face, but he kept going. This way was steeper, had more rocks, trees, underbrush…it was a stupid way to go, but this was the only way to get to Ben. He just hoped it would be in time.

"Alec! Wait!" Zack yelled after him.

Zack was closer than he thought he would be, but he would deal with that later. Right now he had to focus on every step so he didn't twist his ankle. He need to stop Ben from doing this. Ben was his brother, and even though he barely knew him he knew enough to know that Ben wasn't a killer. He hadn't been destroyed as a kid, he had a chance to be whole, maybe not entirely happy, but not a psychopath like he was. He had to protect Ben from becoming like him, cold and heartless.

Zack's footsteps were suddenly right behind him, but instead of trying to stop him, his steps fell into sync with his and they were running side by side. Strengthened by the show of support, he managed to pick up his pace and go just a little bit faster. Maybe Zack really did believe he could do this.

He stopped once they were finally down the mountain. It had taken a long time to get there, but now they had to find Ben and just hope they weren't too late. Zack looked to him to see what they should do. He was trusting him to find Ben and stop him before he killed the thief. The problem was, he had no idea where Ben was.

Instead of panicking because he had no idea what he was doing, he forced himself to relax and focus on his surroundings. He saw the zip ties, cut and abandoned at the base of the tree, but there weren't any footprints around the tree to show where they went.

Ok, he just had to think of why Ben would cut the zip ties. He could've let the guy go, but if he was going to do that, then he could have done that while they were still in town. Something was off about this whole thing. Why would Ben release the guy? What was the point?

His head shot up when he suddenly remembered one of their exercises from Manticore. But he thought Ben's unit had escaped before that particular exercise. "Zack, did you guys ever hunt a prisoner back at Manticore?" Alec whispered.

"Yeah, why?" Zack asked back.

He nodded; things made more sense now. For some reason, Ben was hunting this guy. He couldn't figure out why exactly, but now he could at least figure out where Ben was.

Trusting his instinct, he started walking again, sneaking through the underbrush without making a sound. He didn't know how he knew where to go, but he didn't question it. He kept going, with Zack matching his pace without question.

He heard one rustle of the leaves, but it was enough. He reacted, sprinting in the direction of the sound. He ignored the limbs that slapped against his face and sides. His adrenaline was pumping so he didn't register the spike of pain that shot through him with every step, but he knew he would regret this later. Well, it might still be worth it as long as he got there in time.

He broke through the brush to find a small clearing with Ben and the thief facing off. Ben looked like he was stalking his prey, ready to pounce at any second. The thief had a knife in his hand, but it was obvious the man had never used one before. He looked terrified; there was blood dripping down his face and his clothes were ripped from running through the woods.

He looked back to his brother just in time to see him spring into an attack.

"Ben!" Alec yelled.

* * *

 _More soon..._


	5. Chapter 5

_Hey guys, it's been a while for this one, but last chapter Alec got there just in time to try and stop Ben from killing the thief. Also, if you're reading my other stories, usually I try to respond to any reviews I get, but something has messed up and I just got a ton of emails. I'm not sure who I have responded to or not, but just know I appreciate every review I get!_

 _Ok, back to the story. I hope you all like it!_

* * *

"Ben!" Alec yelled.

He instantly raised his hands up in surrender to show that he was unarmed, that he wasn't a threat. Ben froze and whipped around to face him, shock making his eyes wide. "How's it goin'?" Alec asked, keeping his tone casual.

"What are you doing here? How'd you even get here?" Ben asked, concern overriding his shock. "You shouldn't even be out of bed…"

"Let's go back to the cabin and talk, ok? I'm feelin' pretty worn out from that run…could use a little nap," Alec said. It was wrong, but he was going to use his brother's concern for him against him. If he could make him feel concerned enough to let this go, then he would do it. And he really did need to get back in bed.

"Alec, I can't," Ben said desperately. "I have to do this."

His legs were shaking, and his breathing was harsh, but this was more important than the pain he was in. "No, you don't," Alec said, letting his pain show through just a little bit. "This doesn't matter. Who cares that this guy stole something?! It's not a big deal!"

"It is a big deal!" Ben yelled, an edge to his voice. "If I do this, then she'll keep you safe! She'll keep everyone safe and keep Manticore from finding us! She'll make sure you stay with me!"

"Who?! Who's supposed to do all this?!" Alec asked. "The Blue Lady?! She's not real Ben! She doesn't protect people!"

"Alec-"

"If she was real, then how come she didn't help me break out of Manticore sooner?" Alec asked, taking a step closer to Ben. "How come Manticore exists, huh?"

"She only protects those that believe in her," Ben said.

"I didn't even know about her. What did I do that was so wrong that I didn't get a chance at life until now?" Alec asked, trying anything to get through to his brother. "We were just kids and she let terrible things happen to us. So, in my opinion, she's a load of shit. She doesn't care who steals things or who sacrifices for her because even if she is real, she's not looking out for anyone."

"How am I still alive then?" Ben asked. "I've been on my own for years. I didn't know how to survive on my own, but I'm here because of her."

"No, you're here because of _you_. You kept yourself alive. Zack kept you alive. Hell, Manticore played a part in keeping you alive too. They taught you how to survive and that's why you're here," Alec said. He took another step forward, and was encouraged when Ben didn't back away. "Now, c'mon, let's go back to the cabin. Let this guy go, and we can talk."

Ben looked to the guy, and then back to him. He couldn't tell if he was getting through to his brother or not. "You look like you're about to pass out," Ben said softly.

"Yeah, well, that run didn't really help me," Alec said honestly. "I'm lucky I didn't puncture my lung doing this."

"Why didn't you tell Zack?" Ben asked.

Alec rolled his eyes and let out a quick whistle. Zack slowly walked into the clearing, standing just a little bit behind him. "I did tell him…" Alec muttered. "He just didn't know where you would be."

"Ben, Alec's about out on his feet," Zack said. "Let's get him back to the cabin, ok?"

Ben looked between them one more time before his eyes locked in on the thief. He knew then that what he said hadn't gotten through to him. He moved at the same time that Ben pounced. He blurred and caught his brother around his waist before he could even get close to the man. He pulled back, forcing Ben with him, and landed hard on the ground. Ben landed on top of him, instantly knocking his breath away and spiking his pain up about ten notches, but he could go without air for four minutes and he could ignore his pain for as long as he needed to.

He quickly took control of the situation, maneuvering himself so he was up and Ben was on the ground. "Don't make me do this," Alec said. "Just stand down."

"I can't," Ben said. "I don't want to hurt you, but I can't let him go."

"You have to let him go!" Alec yelled.

Ben kneed him in the side, making him cry out in pain. Ben pushed him to the side and scrambled to get up, but he could still fight. He grabbed Ben's ankle before he got too far away, and pulled him back. He had more training than Ben, so he knew he could take him down. At least, he could if he was at 100%. But failure was not an option this time.

He moved before Ben could get up, and put him in a chokehold as fast as he could. Ben tried to pull his arm from his neck, but he refused to give even an inch. His brother resorted to elbowing his side since he knew that was where he was the weakest, and white-hot pain shot through him. He could feel himself losing consciousness, but he pushed through it, locking away the pain and focusing on what he had to do. He tightened his hold, and held on until Ben's hands finally fell away.

His brother went limp, but he didn't let go completely just yet. He wanted to make sure Ben wasn't playing him, wasn't secretly fine and just waiting for him to let go before he attacked again. After another minute, he was finally satisfied that Ben wasn't faking and slowly let go of his brother. Ben started to fall to the side, but he caught him and gently lowered him to the ground and checked his breathing, which was still thankfully strong.

"I'm sorry," Alec whispered even though his brother couldn't hear him.

"Alec, you good?" Zack asked from the other side of the clearing. He looked over to Zack and saw that he had tackled the man to the ground and was slowly getting back up. The man must have tried to run when he'd started fighting with Ben, which was smart of him, but also stupid because he was definitely outnumbered. But his survival instincts had kicked in and he couldn't blame him for that. "Alec," Zack said in concern. He must have taken too long to answer, but honestly, he didn't want to answer. If he did say something, then Zack would know that he was not good. It was taking everything he had to not pass out right now. "You move, you die," Zack warned the man before he stood up and ran over to him. Zack knelt in front of him and reached out to grip his shoulders, grounding him. "Hey, don't pass out, ok? We've got a lot to do."

He nodded and breathed out, "Yeah…yeah alright…help me up."

"Ok, nice and slow," Zack said, slowly standing up and pulling him up at the same time. His breath hitched at the movement, and he immediately sagged against Zack, his legs unable to hold him. "Easy Alec…"

"J-just put me d-down," Alec whispered. "I-I can't…"

"Ok, here we go," Zack said. He eased him back down and carefully leaned him up against the closest tree. "What hurts the most?" Zack asked. He didn't know why it mattered since there was nothing they could do out here, but he would humor Zack.

"Ribs…t-took an el-elbow…" Alec muttered.

"I'm going to go talk to this guy, you just stay here," Zack said. He nodded since it was taking too much energy to reply, and watched as Zack walked back over to the man. Zack knelt in front of him and said, "You have two options. Option one is to go across the country, move away forever, and never tell anyone about this." Zack waited a second to see if the man would say anything before he continued, "Option two, you die right now."

His eyebrows rose at the blunt way Zack said that. He thought this guy wanted to keep people alive by the way he wanted Ben to stop killing people. But maybe Zack just wanted to save Ben. Killing people took a toll on anyone, and Zack was just protecting his brother.

"Option one," the man said.

"Good," Zack said, standing up again. "Wait here." Zack walked back over to him and took a deep breath before he let it out again.

"What's the plan?" Alec asked, his voice a little stronger than before, but not quite normal yet.

"I'm going to get him out of here. You good staying here until Ben comes around again?" Zack asked.

He leaned his head back against the tree and nodded, "I love the great outdoors…"

"I'll try to be back as soon as I can," Zack reassured. "I just…I don't think he should still be here when Ben wakes up."

He nodded again, "Go. I'm good here."

"Hey Alec?" Zack asked, hesitantly.

"Yeah?"

"You knew about all this…why didn't you tell me earlier? I could've stayed awake and looked out for him," Zack said.

He shrugged, but then winced at the motion. "I wanted to believe I'd gotten through to him. I just wanted to do something right, do the job you got me out to do. I guess I should've told you…"

Zack gave him a small smile and patted his shoulder. "Just stay here, ok?"

"Get goin'. You're wasting daylight," Alec teased. Zack chuckled, and then ran over to the guy again, pulling on his arm to get him moving. Zack sent him one more look just to make sure, so he gave him a thumbs up to signal he was fine. "It's just you and me now, big brother…" Alec muttered to himself, glancing over at Ben who was still unconscious. It was going to be a long, boring wait.

* * *

It took him a while to come back to consciousness. His head was pounding, but the rest of him felt alright. As soon as he remembered why he'd been unconscious, he shot up and looked around for Alec. He felt terrible for fighting with him, and hurting him further, but he'd known what he had to do.

He nearly gasped when he saw Alec passed out, leaning against a tree. He scrambled to get to his feet, and ran over to Alec. He tapped his brother's cheek, and breathed out in relief when Alec's eyes slowly opened. But now he didn't know what to say; 'sorry' just didn't seem to cut it when he'd purposefully hurt Alec and targeted his weaknesses.

"Are you ok?" He finally asked, deciding that was the safest way to go.

"Yeah…'m fine," Alec mumbled. "Just took a little nap…"

"Where's Zack?" Ben asked, looking around for his brother, and the man. He didn't want to look for the man, part of him knew he was already gone, but he had to know. He didn't see Zack or the man, and he really didn't know what to do.

"That guy's gone," Alec said, watching him look around. "Zack took him to town and he's probably on a bus or plane…If he's smart, he'll go to another country."

"Alec-"

"No," Alec said angrily, pushing himself up. He scrambled to his feet, and reached out to steady his brother when he swayed, but Alec pulled away from him. "I'm hurt, Ben! I'm hurt, and I still ran halfway down the mountain to stop you from doing this! And you still didn't listen!"

"Alec, I'm sorry!" Ben tried, but his brother pushed him away and started pacing.

"That's not good enough, Ben!" Alec yelled. His brother stopped and ran his hand through his short hair before he finally looked at him. He was a little calmer now, and then he said, "I don't get it. Why? Why do you have to do this?"

"Alec, I tried to tell you…" Ben whispered. He didn't know how to get through to his brother. He needed to do this. "I'm doing this to keep you safe."

"Ben…I'm hurting right now because of fighting with you," Alec said. He froze, ashamed to realize that his brother was right. He'd hurt his brother… Alec's eyes met his, and his brother's anger instantly melted away. "Hey, it's ok. I'm not hurt that bad. I do want to sit down again, though…" Alec was trying to bridge things between them again, and he instantly wanted to help. He hesitantly reached out to help Alec, afraid that he was going to pull away from him again, but he was relieved when his brother accepted his help and let him ease him back to the ground. "You might as well sit down too," Alec breathed out. "We've gotta wait for Zack to come pick us up."

He nodded and slowly sat down next to Alec. "I really am sorry," Ben whispered. "I never wanted to hurt you."

"Ben…I don't want you killing people," Alec whispered back. "I don't care what they do or who you think you're protecting by doing this…I don't want you to kill people."

"Alec-"

"I mean it," Alec said. "It…killing someone…" Alec ran a frustrated hand through his hair, and then said, "Ok, look, I've killed a lot of people and it changes you. If I had a soul…it's definitely gone now, ok? I don't want the same thing for you."

He looked at his brother in shock; in the short time Alec had been there, he'd mostly joked around and just talked a lot. Alec had been serious a few times when he'd gotten mad at them, but he'd mostly steered clear from talking about Manticore. He tried not to think about everything that had happened to his brother because he'd left him there, but he hadn't considered the fact that Alec would've had to kill more people while he was there. And he never thought about how it would've affected Alec.

He didn't know what to say, so instead he wrapped his arm around Alec's shoulders. His brother leaned against him, and he could tell his brother's fever was back. "Alec…" he finally said. "I don't know if I can stop…That man was doing something wrong anyway, so I don't understand why it's wrong…"

Alec sighed, but then asked, "Why is stealing so wrong? Why does he have to die because he stole something? That seems pretty extreme, don't you think?"

He hesitated, "…Ok…yeah, I guess so…"

"And back at Manticore, we never decided who lived or died, someone else did," Alec said. "I don't know about you, but I don't think I'm qualified to make that kind of decision unless _my life_ depends on it." He nodded again, but he still didn't know if he could stop himself if something happened to Alec, or any of his siblings. "Ok, look, I know you probably can't just quit, cold turkey," Alec said. "But I'm not going anywhere, and we can work this out, right? I mean, I'm not so good at this whole freedom thing, and you're not so good at this sanity thing, so we can help each other out."

He snorted out a laugh, "Yeah, alright."

Alec nodded in agreement and leaned his head back, "I'm just gonna regroup for a minute, ok?"

"Ok," Ben easily agreed. "I'll wake you up when Zack gets here."

Alec nodded again and leaned against him just a little bit more. He didn't know if this was going to work or not, but he wanted to try and do something to get back on his brother's good side. He couldn't believe he'd attacked his own brother…he'd hurt him when all he'd wanted to do was protect him. Maybe what he was doing was wrong…

* * *

It took him two hours to get rid of the guy. He had to make sure he actually left town before he went back to Ben and Alec. He practically shoved the guy onto the bus so he could hurry up and get back to them. Alec was hurt and Ben…Well, his brother needed some help, but at least Alec had really proven himself. Alec had actually pushed himself past his limits to try to stop Ben, and somehow he'd succeeded. He was right to get Alec out of Manticore.

"He ok?" Zack asked once he finally made it back. He was reassured to see the two men leaning against each other, but he felt panic when his eyes landed on Alec's unconscious form. He found that he really did care about Alec, not just because he was going to watch out for Ben, but because he was a good guy and he wanted him to be ok.

Ben jumped, but then quickly looked at Alec to make sure he hadn't disrupted his rest. "Yeah," Ben said softly, looking at him again. "He passed out a little over an hour ago."

"Let's get him back to the cabin," Zack said, slowly moving forward. He stopped when Ben tensed and pulled Alec closer to himself. "Ben, I just want to help."

"I've got him," Ben replied.

Neither of them were prepared for Alec to suddenly lash out. He hit Ben hard, and his brother instinctively let him go. Alec grunted in pain as his head collided harshly with the tree, and then he collapsed to the ground.

"Alec, it's me," Ben soothed, leaning down to be closer and putting a comforting hand against Alec's back. "Don't hit me again, ok? I'm just going to help you sit up…" Alec groaned when Ben helped him sit up, and leaned him against himself again. "Zack's here. We're goin' back to the cabin so we can look you over again."

"'M'kay…" Alec slurred.

"C'mon, we gotta get up, get you to your nice bed," Ben said. "Get some pain medicine, check your stitches…lots to do little brother."

Alec smirked and mumbled, "We're twins…"

"Yeah, but you're 494 and I'm 493, which means you came second, so that makes me older," Ben said as he hauled Alec to his feet. Alec cried out in pain, but Ben kept talking, "Besides, I think you're shorter than me, so you're literally my little brother."

"In your dreams," Alec breathed out. "We're the same height…"

He hovered beside the two brothers, matching them step for step as they made their way to the truck. He was glad they wouldn't have to climb the mountain this time around; Alec shouldn't have gone down the mountain in the first place, but he was glad he did. He didn't think he could've done what Alec did. When he saw Ben kill someone last time, he'd just watched him do it, he hadn't even tried to intervene. Alec had done everything in his power to stop Ben, and he'd actually succeeded.

"Whatever, you're still my little brother," Ben muttered.

He caught a glimpse of Alec's face and saw that he was smiling to himself. Alec wouldn't admit it out loud, but he could tell he liked the sound of being Ben's little brother. He smiled too; Ben was his little brother, and Alec was Ben's brother, which made Alec his little brother too. It didn't really work like that, but he felt a sudden kinship to Alec that he hadn't felt before.

The three of them froze when a branch suddenly snapped. It was probably just an animal, but he pulled his gun anyway and scanned the area to try to find the threat before it could hurt his two brothers, but he didn't see anything. He heard Alec's small gasp, but he didn't look over to see what was wrong, and instead kept his eyes trained where the sound had come from.

"Zack!" Ben yelled in panic.

He spun around to see Alec collapsing, and Ben desperately trying to hold up his shaking form. "What the Hell happened?!" Zack asked, running over to them.

"I don't know, he just started shaking!" Ben said, looking up at him, silently begging him to fix this.

"Ok, ok, let's get him to the ground," Zack said, trying to think of what they could do for Alec. "Has he said anything about getting the shakes? Does he know about the pills?"

"I don't know," Ben said, his panic rising. "He never mentioned it! I haven't seen him shaking or anything."

He tapped Alec's cheek and said, "Alec, c'mon, wake up for us, ok? You need to tell us what's going on? If it's the shakes, or what? C'mon Alec…"

"What do we do?" Ben asked when Alec still didn't wake up. "What if it's not the shakes? What if something else is wrong? What if I really hurt him?!"

"That guy!" Zack said, looking up to meet his little brother's wide eyes. They had to do something; he couldn't let Ben think this was his fault. This could be any number of things caused by anything from falling out of the truck earlier to running down the mountain. They just didn't know enough to really help him. He and Ben knew enough to patch Alec up in the beginning, but something might seriously be wrong, so they needed a professional. But they couldn't go to the hospital since that would bring Manticore to them, so this was their only option. "That guy from the store that patched him up. Where did he say he lived?"

"Caleb?" Ben asked.

"Yeah, Caleb," Zack said impatiently. He didn't really care what the guy's name was as long as he could help them. "Do you remember where he said he lived?"

"Down on the water," Ben said. "Second house on the left, but that could be anywhere!"

"That's all we've got," Zack said. "C'mon, we need to get him to the truck and get back to town. I'll knock on every door if I have to, ok? We'll find him and he'll know how to help Alec."

"Ok," Ben said, trusting him completely. He just hoped he was right.

* * *

They went to three wrong houses before someone finally pointed them in the right direction. He didn't want to leave his brother, but he hoped Caleb would recognize him and would know that they really needed help.

He held his breath as he waited for Caleb to answer the door. He was just about to knock again when the light flicked on and the door opened a crack to reveal the older man, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He'd completely forgotten that it was the middle of the night, but it didn't matter. Alec needed help and he was going to get him help.

"Um…Ben…right?" Caleb asked.

"Yeah," Ben said. "Alec, my brother, he needs help."

"Where is he?" Caleb asked, trying to look over his shoulder.

"C'mon," Ben said, leading the way back to the truck. Zack jump out once they got close and waved for them to come over.

"He collapsed and started shaking and we can't get him to wake up," Zack said.

Caleb ran over to the open door and eased Alec onto his back. He checked his pulse and his pupils before he said, "Help me get him inside. I just have a sofa, but it'll have to do."

He and Zack worked together to get Alec inside, and they gently laid him on the sofa that Caleb had pointed to. "Can you help him?" Ben asked, desperately needing his brother to be ok. This was his fault, he knew that, but he couldn't lose his brother, especially not after just getting him.

Caleb left the room for a minute and came back with a big bag. He pulled on some gloves and grabbed a few things from the bag. He filled a syringe with something from a vial and injected Alec with it.

"What was that?" Zack asked, an edge to his voice. Zack either didn't trust Caleb or was just trying to protect Alec. He wanted to protect Alec too, but Caleb was their last hope. If they couldn't get Alec to wake up, then he wouldn't be able to take the pills. He needed to take the pills if the shakes were going to stop.

"A muscle relaxer," Caleb said. "It should slow his shaking. Give me a few more minutes, and I'll have a better idea on what's going on." He crouched next to his brother and held his hand, just praying he'd wake up. He needed him to wake up… "What happened to make him collapse?" Caleb asked.

"Long story," Zack muttered. "Is he going to wake up?"

"I don't know…" Caleb replied. He pulled out a stethoscope and listened to Alec breathe and listened to his heartbeat. "Help me get his shirt off so I can examine him. I would just cut his shirt off, but he said he only had two shirts, so this will be better even though it's more difficult."

He and Zack both got Alec's shirt off of him, and sadly, it was getting easier and easier getting Alec undressed and dressed while he was unconscious. They even had a system down to make it even easier.

"Zack, can you grab a blanket for him? And Ben, can you get a wet washcloth from the bathroom?" Caleb said as he gently pressed against Alec's stomach.

He jumped up and ran for the bathroom. He wasn't sure where the bathroom was, but it was a small house boat, and there weren't very many rooms. He grabbed a washcloth and ran it under the water before he rang it out and ran back to his brother.

Zack was draping a blanket over Alec's legs when he got back, and Caleb was putting a pillow behind Alec's head. "Here's the washcloth," Ben said softly. Caleb took the washcloth from him, and gently laid it across Alec's forehead.

"You boys might as well have a seat," Caleb said to him and Zack. "Far as I can tell, it's all up to him when he decides to wake up."

"What?" Zack asked with a frown. "What does that mean?"

Caleb took a deep breath before he said, "He's hurt, that much is obvious with the bruising covering his skin. Someone worked him over pretty good before he got shot, but he's not unconscious because of that. I don't know why he's unconscious because there are no signs that he should be unconscious. I don't know what happened, and I don't know when he's going to wake up. But from what I saw at the store, I think he's gonna do whatever he wants, when he wants."

"So…we just have to wait?" Ben asked, gripping Alec's hand again.

"For now, that's our only option unless you want to take him to the hospital," Caleb said.

"No!" He and Zack yelled at the same time.

"I figured as much," Caleb said. "Which means, we'll just have to wait."

"Is there a pharmacy near here?" Zack asked.

"Yeah, it's a couple of blocks south, why?" Caleb asked.

He looked to his brother, silently asking him the same thing. Zack looked back at him and said, "If he has the shakes, then he needs the medicine."

"What if it's not the shakes?" Ben asked.

"Then we'll have the medicine on standby," Zack said. "I should've had a bottle around anyway, but I didn't think about the shakes."

"You didn't know if he had them or not," Ben defended. Zack couldn't blame himself for not thinking about the shakes. He had only gotten the shakes a couple times since leaving Manticore, but nothing like Max had. It made sense that Alec wouldn't get the shakes as bad either since they were twins, but who knew what Manticore did to him during all those years.

"50/50 shot," Zack muttered before he left the house.

He squeezed Alec's hand and quietly begged, "Alec, please, I need you to wake up. Please wake up."

* * *

All of a sudden, he was back at Manticore, strapped to the chair with Labcoats all around him, watching his every move. He knew this room. He knew the smell, the sight, the oppressive feel…he knew this room very well. How did he get back in Manticore? How did he get back to psy-ops?

Maybe his time with Ben and Zack had actually been a trick from psy-ops, a test or a very complex hallucination. He felt tears fill his eyes knowing he wasn't free, that Ben and Zack weren't with him, that he was alone again and back in psy-ops.

He couldn't stop his shaking. His entire body shook in fear and desperation and even in pain. He didn't want to be here. He didn't want to be tortured anymore. His eye already burned from just the thought of the laser. Why did his life have to suck so bad that he couldn't even keep the hallucination of having a brother? Why couldn't he just disappear into his fantasy? Why couldn't his fantasy be real?

A loud SNAP brought him out of his thoughts and back into the room. He watched as one of the Labcoats snapped on another glove and stalked towards him. He tightened the straps around his arms and chest, and then forced his mouth open and shoved a mouth guard between his teeth. This was going to be bad…

He tried not to scream when the laser burned his eye and into his head. It felt like all of his secrets were suddenly out there in the open for everyone to see. The Labcoats saw all of his weaknesses, and were going to judge him for it. He was going to be punished even worse than before because of his hallucination. He should have never tried to escape, even if it was just in his head.

His back arched from the chair, but the strap across his chest dug into his skin and forced him back down. He started to close his eyes, but another Labcoat was there and he forced his eye back open. He screamed in agony, just praying that he would pass out.

But he didn't. He endured the pain until they finally shut off the laser. All he could do was watch as the Labcoats removed the straps. They didn't even have any guards in the room; they knew he had nothing left. He was lifted up by his arms and drug from the room. He prayed he was going back to his cell and not to the second room. He couldn't handle more pain, but he knew he was going to be punished for imagining that he'd escaped and that he'd met up with Ben and decided he had a chance at a family.

But he didn't have any luck. He was taken to the other room and his wrists were chained to handcuffs that were dangling from the ceiling. He took the beating in silence since he knew any sound of weakness he made would just make his beating worse.

He took his punishment and tried not to think about his small time of being free. If he thought about it, they would know and it would be that much worse. Plus, he missed Ben and Zack like crazy even though the hallucination had only been gone for about an hour. He missed having a family, having brothers who looked out for him and cared what happened to him. He wished more than anything that they were real. But he couldn't think about them; it hurt too much knowing they weren't real.

He closed his eyes as punch after punch landed against his skin. There was no escaping this torture. Nothing could help him.

Except…he heard Ben's voice and it was like a light at the end of the tunnel. Maybe his hallucination was coming back, and no matter how much he got punished for it, he didn't fight his hallucination. Instead, he heard Ben beg, "Alec, please, I need you to wake up. Please wake up."

He held on to that; held on to the hope that he did have a brother and that would get him through this even though it hurt.

* * *

 _So, Alec might be a little more messed up from Manticore than he was letting on. Hope you liked it!_

 _More soon..._


	6. Chapter 6

_Just to recap; Alec, Ben, and Zack are all at Caleb's. Alec stopped Ben from killing the thief, but then had a seizure and they went to Caleb's for help. They couldn't get Alec to wake up because he's stuck in his own head, thinking he's back at Manticore. Hopefully that recap helped remind you what's going on since it's been a while! Hope you all like it!_

* * *

"Ben, what happened?" Caleb asked after Zack had been gone for about ten minutes.

"It's complicated," Ben said. "But he was…ok…and then there was this noise and he just collapsed."

"What kind of noise?" Caleb asked patiently.

"Just a tree branch breaking," Ben said.

Caleb nodded, and checked Alec's pulse again. "Well, his pulse is strong…a little too fast, but he's got a fever, so that could be part of it."

"He has to be ok…" Ben muttered to himself. "It's my fault. He got out of bed to try to…help me…"

"Ben, gunshot wounds can have many complications," Caleb reasoned. "And I know he's got some broken ribs, which aren't helping anything. He's exhausted, he's got a fever, and I'm guessing he hasn't gone to the hospital at all since he's been shot, am I right?"

"We don't get along with hospitals," Ben said.

"A lot of people don't these days," Caleb said. "A lot of people don't get along with a lot of people, which is what I'm guessing is what happened to your brother. I don't know you guys, but I can tell Alec's got a mouth on him and he's not afraid to pick a fight…"

"He had a rough childhood," Ben replied, even though that was a massive understatement.

Caleb must have known this was a touchy subject since he didn't push. He frowned though and asked, "You said that a tree branch snapped, and then he collapsed?"

"Yeah," Ben said slowly.

"And he had a rough childhood and he's been shot…" Caleb muttered.

"Ok…I'm not sure where you're going with this…" Ben said.

"Has he ever been shot before this?" Caleb asked.

"I-I don't know," Ben stuttered. "We've been separated for…well…forever. Zack found out about him and got us together about a week ago…"

"That's incredible," Caleb breathed out. "Especially these days…And the fact…wow…I just thought you two had known each other forever. You guys were so aware of each other back at the store, you both forgot I was even there."

He felt good knowing that Caleb thought he and Alec had known each other forever. That meant they acted like brothers even though they barely knew each other. "So, how does Alec possibly getting shot before have anything to do with why he's unconscious right now?" Ben asked.

"He heard a sound, a loud sound, and he collapsed," Caleb said. "He could have been reacting to the sound. I don't know enough about him to know why he's unconscious instead just having a flashback or a sense of déjà vu, but that's my best guess. Sometimes that happens with people who have PTSD."

"How would we snap him out of it?" Ben asked.

"I honestly don't know…" Caleb said. "Different things work for different people."

"Ok, well, what are some things that work?" Ben asked.

"Ben…"

"I want to know," Ben cut off. "He needs to wake up because if he's stuck in his own head, that's probably a lot worse than what it's going to take to snap him out of it." Alec was stuck in Manticore, he was sure of it, which meant he really needed to wake his brother up, no matter what it took.

"Another loud sound could do it," Caleb said after a minute. "But so could cold water, or a familiar sound or smell, or pain, or maybe he just needs some time. I don't know, Ben."

"We need to try," Ben said, starting to get up.

Caleb grabbed his arm though to stop him. "Let's wait for your brother to get back, ok? That way we can give Alec a little more time to wake himself up."

He sat down again and grabbed Alec's hand. He ignored Caleb and whispered, "Alec…I know where you think you are, but you're not actually there. You're here with me, ok? So, you need to wake up again. Not just for me, but for you too. I don't want you to think you're back there. You're free from that place, so please wake up."

* * *

"Did he wake up?" Zack asked as soon as he walked in. His face fell though when he saw that Alec was still unconscious on the sofa. His shaking had stopped, so it looked like he was just asleep now, but that didn't make him feel any better. Alec should be grumbling and complaining that they'd brought him here and asking when they could leave, not just lying there.

"No, but Caleb said we might be able to snap him out of it," Ben said.

"I didn't say any of those options would actually work," Caleb said.

"What kind of options?" Zack asked. He walked over to Alec and sat down next to his hip, careful not to jostle him too much, but enough for him to know he wasn't alone.

"We need to try to wake him up," Ben said. "Caleb thinks he's reacting to the branch breaking and that made him flashback to something that might've happened to him before."

He met Ben's eyes and knew his brother meant that Alec thought he was back in Manticore. "What do we do to wake him up?" Zack asked, positive now that they needed to get Alec awake.

"We could try a loud noise or something that's familiar to him," Caleb said.

He and Ben shared another look, "What would be familiar to him?" Zack asked.

"I don't know…" Ben answered. His brother looked away from him and looked at Caleb and said, "We hardly know each other. I don't know what would be familiar to him…"

Caleb nodded in understanding and said, "Then, we could try cold water or maybe a little bit of pain, like a pinch or a slap, nothing too extreme."

They tried all kinds of things to get Alec to wake up, but nothing worked. All they did was get Alec soaked and give him a few more bruises to add to his others. They were just about to let him rest some more, and just wait for him to come around by himself, when he went into a seizure.

Ben and Caleb got him on his side and tried to help him, but they just had to wait.

He clenched his jaw and waited until Alec's muscles went limp before he tried one more thing. He reached out and pressed hard against Alec's bullet wound, hard enough to break the stitches and cause Alec to bleed freely again, but he didn't let go. Not even when Ben tried to pull him off and yelled at him to let go.

He and Ben gasped in surprise when Alec suddenly cried out in pain and tried to shove his hand away. His hand was already gone though, and instead he was trying to hold Alec down to keep him from moving too much.

"Alec, hey, you with us?" Zack asked. Alec's eyes landed on him, but he looked terrified. "Alec, you're not there. Do you know who I am?"

Alec's eyes shifted over to Ben, and then back to him. "This isn't real…" Alec said miserably.

"This is real," Zack said. "This is real, and you know how I know that?" Alec just looked at him, so he said, "I woke you up by pressing against your bullet wound. Your bullet wound that you got…" He cut himself off and looked to Caleb.

"When Zack broke you out," Ben said before he could ask Caleb to give them some privacy. "Remember? Zack broke you out and brought you to me and now we live in a cabin up in the mountains."

"This isn't real," Alec said again. "This is a hallucination. A very complex hallucination that I'm gonna get in big trouble for. Just go away!"

"Alec, I broke you out," Zack said, roughly gripping Alec's shoulders. "I broke you out, so they can't hurt you anymore." Alec started shaking in his hold, and he knew he was about to lose consciousness again and he couldn't let that happen. "Get me some water!" He yelled, knowing there wasn't much time. "Alec, look at me. Stay with me, ok? Even if this is a hallucination, don't you want to stay with us instead of going back there?"

"I'll g-get in tr-trouble…" Alec said, his voice breathy from losing his adrenaline rush.

"You won't feel it if you stay here," Zack tried. "They can do whatever they want, but you won't feel any of it if you stay with us."

"It'll b-be w-worse when I sn-snap out of it…" Alec said, tears filling his eyes. Even in the week he'd known Alec, he'd never seen him so broken, so defeated. Alec had a mask that could fool even the most perceptive people, but his guard was down now and he couldn't hide his fear.

"Just stay, ok? I know it's worse, but stay," Zack begged. He didn't want Alec to think he was back at Manticore. That was a horrible place, but he was free now even if he didn't believe it.

"Zack, here's some water," Caleb said, keeping his voice down so he didn't startle either of them.

He gratefully took the glass and held Alec up slightly so he could get a drink, but Alec kept his lips sealed tight so he couldn't get any water. "Alec, you need to drink some water. You're going to get dehydrated if you don't, and then we'll have to get you on an IV. You don't want that, do you?"

Alec clenched his jaw and looked away from him. A tear leaked from the corner of his eye, but Ben grabbed the washcloth that was on Alec's forehead and soaked it up. Alec ignored both of them though and kept his focus on the ceiling.

"We might need to get him on an IV anyway," Caleb said. "He needs fluids and antibiotics, and that will be the fastest way to get them in his system. The fever could be playing a part in this, but we've gotta take care of him to get rid of it."

"Alec, we're gonna get you on an IV, ok?" Ben gently asked, running his hand through Alec's wet hair. Alec didn't answer, didn't react at all, even when Caleb followed through and got him on an IV. He hung the bag on a lamp over the sofa, and then injected some antibiotics into the line.

"You at least have to take some pills," Zack said when it looked like Alec was about to fall asleep.

Alec frowned and asked, "Why?"

"To stop the seizures," Ben said.

"I d-don't get seizures," Alec said.

"Alec, you had a seizure just a few minutes ago," Caleb said.

"And you've been shaking since you passed out," Ben said.

"They g-gave us all a shot," Alec said, shaking his head in denial. "They fixed the d-defect so we don't get the shakes anymore."

"Well, you had one," Zack grumbled. "Shot or no shot, you're gonna be sore for a while."

"And I need to patch up your bullet wound again," Caleb said. "You're losing a lot of blood."

Alec looked down at his side and frowned, "I think I've got an o-overactive imagination…"

"Alec, this is real," Zack said. "Why would you hallucinate yourself in more pain?"

"I had to make it b-believable, didn't I?" Alec shot back. "If I escaped from M-manticore, then I know I didn't g-get out without a scratch."

Ben sighed, "Zack, he's not going to just believe this is real because we told him it was."

"Fine. Pretend this is real," Zack said. "Just for a while, ok? Let us take care of you, cooperate, and accept some medicine. Just for a while, take a break from Manticore."

"It'll just h-hurt worse when they find out," Alec mumbled.

He took a deep breath, and then let it out. "Alright, fine. Go back. Do whatever you want."

"F-fine. I will," Alec said, closing his eyes again. He shared a look with Ben and shrugged; maybe it would work. Alec opened his eyes again and looked around, but his face fell when he saw he was still here. "I shouldn't b-be disappointed that I'm still h-here, right?" Alec asked sarcastically.

"Alec, let Caleb patch you up," Ben said, gripping his brother's arm. "If you get some sleep and get rid of this fever, then things will make sense again."

He watched as Alec looked to Ben, and he could see the open trust between them. Alec finally nodded, "Ok…ok, I'll c-cooperate. M-maybe you're r-right…"

Ben smiled, "Ok, just relax. Me and Zack are gonna stay here the whole time. We're not gonna let you go back to Manticore."

Alec nodded again and let his eyes close. "D-don't go anywhere," Alec whispered. "Even if th-this isn't r-real…I d-don't wanna go b-back…"

"I'm not goin' anywhere," Ben reassured.

* * *

He groaned when he finally woke up again. He felt like death warmed over, but he wasn't really sure what happened. He must have passed out after fighting with Ben, and then they had to drag him back up the mountain.

He slowly opened his eyes, and immediately panicked.

Where the Hell was he? What happened? Why weren't they at the cabin?

He breathed out in relief though when he saw Ben and Zack asleep near him. Ben was sitting in front of him, leaning back against the sofa, while Zack was in an armchair, snoring slightly. He looked around the small space, but felt more at ease just because the place was cozy. They were in someone's home…he just didn't know who.

His eyes caught on an IV taped to the inside of his elbow, and he instantly wanted to take it out, but he didn't. Ben and Zack were here, he knew they wouldn't let someone inject something funky into him while he was out. He hadn't known them for long, but he knew they had his back. He could trust them, so he left the IV where it was. His shirt was gone anyway, and his side was bandaged, so he knew he'd lost some blood. And he was incredibly sore. He hurt worse than he expected from fighting with Ben.

He relaxed again and dozed off for a while. When he woke up again, Ben was up and walking back in from another room. His brother looked at him in surprise, but then smiled, "Hey, how're you feeling?"

"Confused," Alec replied honestly.

Ben walked over and sat on the edge of the sofa. "What's the last thing you remember?"

"Um…we were fighting…and I guess I passed out?" Alec asked.

"And this is real?" Ben asked, looking at him in concern.

He frowned, "Yeah…why wouldn't it be real?"

"Alec…you thought this was all a very complex hallucination," Ben said slowly. "You thought you were still in Manticore."

"Yikes…" Alec breathed, trying not to let it show how embarrassed he was. Of course he would have some kind of freak out episode…why did he always have to ruin everything?

"Hey, it's ok," Ben soothed. "I'm just glad you're back."

"Did I…did I try to escape…or hurt either of you?" Alec asked timidly. He couldn't remember anything that had happened, and he hated to think that he might've hurt Ben or Zack while he was hallucinating.

"No, Alec, we're all fine," Ben reassured. "In case you forgot, me and Zack are X5's too. We can handle a few hallucinations." He nodded, and tried to figure out how to change the subject. But then Ben asked, "Who's Rachel?"

His eyes flashed up to his brother's as he breathed, "What?"

"Rachel…You kept saying her name while you were sleeping…" Ben said.

He had no idea what to say. He didn't know how to explain…her… He felt his chest tighten in panic…he couldn't breathe. It was his fault. It was all his fault. She was gone because of him. He should have done more. He should have warned her sooner. He should have _done_ something. She was gone because of him.

"Hey, hey, hey," Ben whispered, grabbing his face and forcing him to look at him. "Breathe, ok. You need to breathe." He focused on Ben and took in a shuddering breath. "You don't have to tell me. I'm sorry I asked, I was just curious. Just keep breathing, ok?" He nodded and took in slow breaths, which seemed to be helping. "We're at Caleb's," Ben said, finding something else for him to focus on.

"What?" He wheezed.

"You had a seizure, you wouldn't wake up, your fever was way too high…we didn't know what else to do," Ben said. "So, we found Caleb's house and he helped us patch you up. And…we didn't want to take you back up to the cabin considering…"

"That ride sucks," Alec breathed.

"I know," Ben said with a small smile.

"Seizures suck too," Alec whispered. "I freakin' hurt." He gasped suddenly and sat up in alarm, "You don't get seizures, do you? I mean, I got the shot, but you didn't. I'm not supposed to get seizures, but something must have snapped to cause it. But do you get them?"

"I've gotten them before, but I haven't for a long time," Ben reassured. "I still take the pills too, so I shouldn't get them."

"Ok…" Alec breathed out in relief. "Good…"

Ben helped ease him back onto the cushions and said, "I'm gonna wake Zack up, and then go get Caleb. He'll want to know you're awake."

He nodded since he was too tired to argue. He didn't really want to talk to Zack or Caleb, but he would since his brother was still worried. He really just wanted to go back to the cabin and sleep for a week, but at the same time, he never wanted to go up that washed-out road again. Even if he hadn't been shot and was perfectly healthy, that ride would still suck.

He jumped when someone's hand landed on his shoulder. He'd dozed off without even noticing. He opened his eyes again and saw Zack standing above him. Zack smiled when he saw he was awake, and crouched down next to him.

"Hey, you feelin' better? Ben said you weren't hallucinating anymore," Zack said.

"Yeah…I'm good," Alec breathed. "Sorry 'bout all that…"

"Alec, I broke you out right after a session with pys-ops…honestly, I'm surprised you didn't hallucinate sooner," Zack said gently. "I should've been ready for it, but I let my guard down. I was watching for anything that could be wrong, but you didn't have nightmares, you didn't zone out while we were talking to you, you never flinched when we got close to you…It was like psy-ops had no effect on you."

"Trust me…it did," Alec admitted.

"You do a good job of hiding it," Zack said. "But…you don't have to hide it. I know me and Ben left and you went through Hell, but we can help. We can't understand everything you went through, but sometimes it just helps to talk."

"Thanks," Alec said sincerely. He was surprised he didn't feel any anger at Zack for suggesting that he could talk to them and they'd understand. But they could understand at least a little bit of what he'd gone through since they'd gone through it too. And they'd gone through their own kind of Hell. He imagined it wasn't easy to survive out in the real world when you were by yourself at nine-years-old. It wasn't his Hell, but just a different kind of Hell.

"You want some water?" Zack asked. He nodded, and was grateful when he finally got a drink of water. His throat was way too dry, which meant he'd been asleep for quite some time. "It's been about a day," Zack said, guessing what he was thinking. "Y'know…since everything happened…"

"Is Ben doing…ok?" Alec asked.

"For now," Zack said. "He's been worried about you, so I don't think he's had time to think about it yet." He nodded again, and closed his eyes. He may have stopped Ben for a while, but he might not have gotten through to his brother. "Hey, he listens to you. I know he didn't stop, and you had to fight him to get him to stop, but he hesitated. He wanted to stop because _you_ asked him to. And it's going to take some time, but I think you're gonna get through to him."

He opened his eyes again and smiled slightly; Zack still believed in him. Zack broke him out of Manticore because he was sure he was the only one who could get through to Ben. Now, he was starting to believe it too. He was actually going to miss Zack when he left. "You better come back," Alec said.

"What?" Zack asked with a frown, not following his train of thought.

"I know you're going to leave again, and probably soon," Alec said. "Just…you better come back. That's all."

Zack smiled and nodded, "I'll be back. I'll probably be gone two…maybe three, weeks, and then I'll swing by to check on you guys again."

"Good," he said as he snuggled down into his pillows. "Wake me up when Ben comes back, ok?"

Zack chuckled, "Ok, I will."

* * *

"I got it," Alec grumbled, shrugging off his brothers' help. He was fine; they'd stayed at Caleb's for five days, which was five days longer than they should have stayed. But, now he and Ben were lined up to have jobs starting Monday morning. Caleb decided they could work for him at the clinic, which was great because they needed money, but sucked because it sounded really boring.

"Alec…Caleb said you needed to take it easy," Ben reminded.

"I heard him," Alec said. "And you and Zack say that about 50 times. And, luckily, there's nothing to do here, so it'll be really easy to do nothing."

"C'mon, let's just get you settled," Zack said, completely ignoring him and gently grabbing his arm again to steer him to his bed. He had to admit, he kind of missed this place. This was the only place he'd ever had to really call home besides Manticore, and since Manticore sucked, this place took the top spot.

He smiled when he was finally in his bed again. If he didn't have so much energy, he could lay in bed all day. This was the most comfortable bed in the whole entire world, he was sure of it.

"Look at him," Ben teased. "He missed his bed."

"Shut up," Alec half-heartedly grumbled. "You're just jealous 'cause your bed's not as comfortable as mine."

"Now I know why he wanted to leave Caleb's so bad," Zack said.

"I mean it, shut up or else you're gonna get a face-to-face with the ground," Alec warned.

Zack and Ben shared a look, and then burst out laughing. He rolled his eyes and got more comfortable in his bed. He didn't care what they said; he liked his bed. Zack messed up his hair suddenly, drawing his attention before he said, "I've got a lead on one of us pretty close to here."

"Really?" Ben asked in surprise. "Who?"

"Ben…don't get your hopes up," Zack warned. "I don't know if they're actually there or not. It's more of a shot in the dark than anything."

"Zack, who?" Ben asked.

"I really don't know who," Zack said. "And I wouldn't tell you even if I did."

"What? Why not?" Ben asked in confusion.

"Ben…it's safer if you all stay apart," Alec said softly. He knew where Zack was headed with this, and it made sense. Just the two of them sticking together would draw more attention than if it was just Ben. One person could easily disappear, but two? That would make it twice as hard to hide. "It would be harder for Manticore to track you guys when you're all separated."

"Alec's right," Zack said. "That's why we split up in the first place."

"But we're older now," Ben said. "We know how to fight and take care of ourselves. We should be able to all be together again."

"It's not safe," Zack said. "But as soon as it is-"

"Wait…it's Max, isn't it?" Ben asked. "She was the only one you couldn't find…Where is she? You said she's pretty close…How close?"

"Ben-"

"How 'bout you just go, we'll stay here, and if it's safe you can come back and get us," Alec suggested. He knew Zack wouldn't come back to get them, but maybe this would get Ben to drop it. He understood why they couldn't meet up, but he also understood why Ben wanted to meet up with his unit mates.

"That'll be great," Zack said. "I can scope it out, make sure Manticore's not close, and make sure they're actually there before I come back."

Ben slowly nodded and turned away from them while he shared a quick nod with Zack. He would make sure Ben stayed here with him while Zack did what he had to do.

"Ben," Alec said to get his brother's attention.

"Yeah?" Ben asked, immediately turning back to face him.

"I could use some water…My throat's hurting a little bit," Alec said, knowing his brother would jump at the opportunity to help him. It was low, but he had to make sure Zack would still come back to check on them even if he did find Max or whoever he was looking for. Ben needed his brother, and he had to admit, he felt better with Zack around too.

"Ok, I'll be right back," Ben said, running for the door to the well that was outside.

Zack looked to him as soon as Ben was gone, but he didn't waste any time. "You still gotta come back," he said. "You gotta come back even if you find Max. Promise him you'll come back."

"I will," Zack quickly reassured. "But if it's really Max…I can't just let her keep thinking she's the only one who made it out. She's been on her own this whole time…"

"I know why you have to go, I just want to make sure you're gonna come back," Alec said.

"I'm going to come back, Alec, I promise," Zack said.

He nodded and said, "Ok good…just make sure you tell Ben that too."

"I will," Zack said.

* * *

 _More soon..._


	7. Chapter 7

_Sorry for the long wait, but hopefully there is still some interest in this story! I changed the end of season one so Zack could stay alive, just an FYI, hopefully you all enjoy! Also, there is a time jump between this chapter and the last chapter._

* * *

4 MONTHS LATER

"I swear, if you're making beans again, I'm gonna scream," Alec said as he dropped the armload of firewood to the ground. He rubbed his hands together to try to get the feeling back in them. It was freezing outside, and even though he ran warmer than ordinaries, he'd been outside for a long time chopping wood and his fingers were freezing because of it.

He snuggled further into his jacket to try to get even warmer, thankful that he even had a jacket now. Manticore only believed in jackets if they were going somewhere with knee-deep snow; he was very thankful to be able to decide if he wanted to bundle up or not. He ran warmer than ordinaries, but he like _being_ warm. It was probably the cat DNA in him that made him was to just curl up in front of the fire and take a nap.

"I'm not making beans," Ben grumbled. "Caleb sent dinner with me. I'm just warming it up."

"Thank God," Alec said, plopping down onto the sofa. "I can't eat another bite of beans ever again. I'm so sick of-" He stopped suddenly and stood up, pulling his gun from the back of his pants in one fluid motion. He barely glanced at Ben to see that his twin was mirroring his position, both of them having heard the same thing.

He silently walked over to the window and barely peeked outside, but he couldn't see anything. He scanned the area, trying to look through the trees for any kind of movement. It didn't feel like Manticore had found them, but who else would be able to sneak up to where they were and who else could find them?

He looked to Ben, who had moved to the other window, but his brother shook his head no to him.

"Don't shoot!" A familiar voice suddenly called out. "It's Zack!" He and Ben shared another look, unwilling to just trust their hearing and accept that this was really Zack. It had been four months since they'd heard from him; they had thought Manticore had gotten to him since he'd just disappeared for so long.

They waited, and after a few tense minutes, Zack slowly walked out from behind one of the trees with his arms raised in surrender. No one else stepped out with him, but that didn't mean they weren't there. But they couldn't just sit here forever.

"Cover me," Alec breathed.

"Alec," Ben hissed.

He ignored his brother and slipped out the front door, his gun still trained on Zack. "Anyone else with you?" Alec asked, his voice hard and unwelcoming even though he was really happy to see Zack again. He'd started to think of him as his big brother before he'd left. Zack had rescued him, and no matter what happened, he would always be the one that saved him, so that meant it would be next to impossible to kill him if he had to. He really hoped he wouldn't have to…

"I'm alone," Zack said.

"You armed?" Alec asked, slowly moving closer.

"Yeah," Zack said. "Gun and a couple knives on me and a shotgun over by my bag, which I left by the tree."

"Take them all out and drop them on the ground," Alec ordered.

Zack very slowly moved to get rid of his weapons, but he asked, "Where's Ben?"

"Not here," Alec replied, unwilling to give away his brother's position until he was 100% sure Zack was alone and wasn't being manipulated by Manticore.

"Alec, I swear I'm alone and Manticore didn't get to me," Zack said.

"Y'know, that'd be more believable if we'd heard from you sometime in the last four months," Alec grumbled.

"Alec, a lot has happened," Zack stressed. "I'll explain everything as soon as you decide I'm not a threat." He didn't say anything as he quickly frisked Zack for any other weapons he could be hiding. "I need your help," Zack said softly.

"With what?" Alec spat, unwilling to just forget the last four months of silence. He knew Ben had watched for Zack's return, or even just a phone call from his older brother, but it never happened. He could deal with disappointment since he'd hardly had any hope in his life, but Ben wasn't great at dealing with things. His brother hadn't gone after anyone else since the thief in the woods, but he'd still had to talk him down when he saw something he didn't agree with. But Ben listened to him and trusted him when he had to talk him out of going after someone, and Ben had learned how to deal with his issues from Manticore. He was more of a mess than he liked to admit, but Ben never left him and actually helped him through it each time. Now Zack was suddenly back, and as happy as he was to see him, he was still worried this would shake Ben's trust in him.

"Where's Ben?" Zack asked instead of answering his question.

He scanned the area one more time before he looked to the cabin. Zack followed his gaze and smiled when Ben appeared before he ran over to the cabin.

He hung back as Zack and Ben hugged, laughing and talking like the last four months never happened. He slowly picked up Zack's weapons from the ground before he started looking for the shotgun Zack had mentioned.

"Alec, get over here," Ben called out, enthusiastically waving him over.

"Be there in a minute…" Alec mumbled. He slung Zack's bag over his shoulder and picked up the shotgun that was leaning against the tree. He finally walked over to his brother and Zack, brushing by them to go into the house.

He heard Ben run after him just before his brother caught his arm to stop him. "Hey, you ok?" Ben asked in concern.

"I'm fine," Alec snapped. "Apparently, everything's fine."

"Alec-"

"I need to go back to town," Alec cut off. "I told Caleb that I'd watch the clinic tonight."

"Alec, wait-"

"Just hang out with your brother," Alec said. "Who knows how long he's gonna stick around this time…"

He dropped Zack's weapons on the old sofa, and then quickly left the room. He didn't want to ruin Ben's time with Zack, and if he stuck around, then that's exactly what he would do. He couldn't forget that Zack had left and hadn't called to check on them like Ben could. So, he walked out of the cabin, brushed by Zack, and got in their old rust bucket of a truck to go to town.

* * *

"Where's Alec going?" Zack asked him as soon as the truck disappeared.

He shrugged, "He said he needed to go to town. He'll come back in a few hours. Or he might sleep at Caleb's tonight, but he won't be gone forever." He'd come a long way since he and Alec had started living together. He used to hate it when Alec went to town without him since he was never sure if his brother was going to come back or not. But now, he was comfortable with them needing to split up since he knew Alec was coming back. He trusted his brother completely, and he knew Alec trusted him too.

Alec had nightmares most nights, but he had been really good at hiding them to start out. But he'd figured out Alec wasn't sleeping when he'd had his own nightmare and woke up to find Alec sitting outside on the porch. He'd gone out and sat next to Alec in their rocking chairs they had gotten from town and just looked out at the stream that he could barely see from there. He'd just sat there until Alec had finally started talking, and after that, they had their routine. He would wake up to find Alec outside and he'd sit with him until he felt like talking about it. They were real brothers now, not just because they shared the same DNA, and it made him insanely happy to have someone he could rely on.

"I need to talk to both of you," Zack said. "This is important."

He looked at his older brother and said, "I can't tell him what to do. He's mad at you and there's nothing I can do to change that." He knew Alec was mad at him a little too since he wasn't as mad at Zack as he was, but he also knew that Alec really was happy to see Zack again. Alec wasn't as good at hiding his feelings as he thought he was, or he had gotten a lot better at reading his brother. He knew Alec's defense mechanisms just as Alec knew his own. They truly were brothers, and he hurt knowing that Alec was hurting.

"He's mad at me?" Zack asked in confusion.

"He's not used to having anyone care about him, and then you went and broke him out," Ben explained. "You're his hero, even if he won't admit it. But then you disappeared, and you didn't ever say when you were going to come back. Little brothers tend to freak out when their big brothers disappear, even if they're expecting it."

"I didn't even think about that," Zack whispered. "Are you mad at me too?"

"A little," Ben admitted. "But I'm used to you disappearing, and I knew you were going to come back. Alec didn't know that." Alec truly was his little brother, and he'd tried to explain that Zack would come back, but his brother didn't believe him. Good things didn't happen to his brother, and it was impossible to get him to change his mind on that.

"We should go after him," Zack said. "I can explain why I've been gone for so long and try to make things better."

"I'm guessing you didn't bring a car up the mountain with you," Ben said with a small smirk. "Otherwise, we would have heard you coming a lot sooner."

"We could walk," Zack suggested.

He frowned, suddenly realizing that whatever Zack wanted to tell them, it really was important. "Zack, what's going on?" Ben asked.

Zack hesitated before he said, "Manticore has Max. I need help getting her back out." He felt like he couldn't breathe; Zack had found Max, but now his sister was back at Manticore… "So, grab whatever you and Alec need from here, and let's go get him. The sooner we can come up with a plan, the sooner we can get Max back."

"Where are we going?" Ben asked, wondering why they couldn't just come up with a plan here. Their cabin wasn't much, but it was their home. It felt weird to be leaving it, but Max needed them.

"Seattle."

* * *

He'd lied to Ben; he wasn't going to the clinic, he just didn't want to stay in the cabin. So, he went to Caleb's houseboat. He and Ben crashed there sometimes when they were too tired to drive back up to the cabin, so he had some clothes stashed there, and even a couple guns in case Manticore found them. Caleb's house was like their second home, and the older man had happily taken them in and helped them any time they needed it.

He parked the truck on the curb before the dock and headed for Caleb's house. He knocked even though Caleb had given him and Ben a key a while back. He'd only used the key once when Caleb was working late and he'd had one of his bad days. He'd needed to be alone, so Caleb told him to go home and this was where he'd ended up.

Caleb opened the door after a minute, but he didn't look surprised to see him. He just stepped aside to let him in, and then closed the door behind him.

"Have you eaten yet?" Caleb asked him, walking towards the kitchen like he already knew the answer.

"No…" Alec said, looking down at his feet.

"Alright, I've got some leftovers you can have," Caleb said. He walked back in and motioned to the sofa, which was already made up for someone to sleep on.

"You knew I was coming?" Alec asked, looking up in surprise.

"Zack came here first to see if you guys were still around," Caleb said. "Even though you've tried really hard to not let anyone know you, I've at least got a part of you figured out." He nodded and sat down on the sofa, taking the plate that was handed to him. "And I know Ben, so I know your brother will be here sooner or later. And Zack will be with him, since he was already looking for you both and he seemed like he was in a hurry."

He nodded again and scooped the food into his mouth like he was starving, which he kind of was. Caleb had tried to give him and Ben as much food as he could, but it was hard to feed transgenics since their metabolisms were so fast. But Caleb thought they were too skinny, and he had lost some weight since leaving Manticore, but that's what happened when you lived off of beans.

"You should get some rest while you can," Caleb said, patting his shoulder. "I'm gonna miss you boys when you leave…"

He frowned, "What?"

"I don't know what's going on, but I'm assuming you're about to take off," Caleb said. "Just try to keep out of trouble, ok?"

He smirked and ducked his head, "I'll try, but no promises."

Caleb chuckled before he messed up his hair and started for his bedroom. "Let me know when you boys are heading out. And slow down eating. I don't want to hear you chokin' out here just because you're trying to eat as fast as you can."

He nodded again, "Alright, I'll slow down."

"And give Zack a chance to talk," Caleb said. "I know you're mad at him, but you won't know if he had a good excuse or not if you don't let him talk. And taking off again won't help."

"Alright, alright," Alec grumbled, rolling his eyes.

Caleb laughed though and said, "Alec, if I ever had kids, I'm afraid they'd be just like you."

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Alec said with a smirk.

"Why do you think I never reproduced?" Caleb teased. He actually laughed and nodded in agreement. "But seriously, if you don't tell me when you're leaving, I will find you and you'll wish you'd told me. I know more about you than you think, and I know you think you can hide from me, but you don't know the lengths a parent will go to find their kid." His mouth dropped open in shock; he knew Caleb cared about him and Ben, but he didn't think anyone would care about him that much except for Ben. Caleb chuckled again and said, "You think on that while you wait for your brothers. Yes, I care about you and Ben enough to think of you as my own kids. I meant what I said and you are worth caring about even if you don't think so."

He sat there in shock as Caleb left the room. He didn't know what to do with this information… He knew Ben cared about him; they'd lived together for four months now, so they knew each other, took care of each other, cared about each other, it felt unbelievable that someone else could care about them. But, Caleb had been there for them from the start and he'd taken care of them as much as he could. He patched them up when they needed it, he sent them home with food and kept them as fed as he could, he let them crash at his place, and he gave them a job to get them money that they needed, a job where he didn't need help, but he hired them both anyway.

He didn't know much about parents, but he knew they tried to take care of their kids. Caleb tried to take care of them, which made what he'd said true. Caleb cared about them; he cared about them enough to think of them as his own kids…

He didn't know how long he sat there, but when he finally shook himself out of his thoughts he found that his food was cold. He stood up to go put it in the microwave again, but jumped when there was a knock at the door. He ignored the door for now, so he could heat up his food again. He knew it was Ben and Zack, and he'd let them in, but he wanted food first.

"Alec…" Ben said from the other side of the door. "C'mon, I know you're here because the truck's here…" He grabbed his food again and walked back over to the sofa to sit down. "Alec…I have a key…and we really need to talk…"

"Ben, we don't have time," Zack said. "Alec, open the door or else I'm breaking it down."

"Just come in," Alec said. "I left it unlocked." His brothers slowly walked in as he started eating his leftovers.

"Alec, I get that you're mad at me," Zack said as Ben sat down next to him to try to get a bite of his food. He shared with his brother as he tried to ignore Zack. He would let him talk like Caleb told him to, but that didn't mean he had to respond to what he was saying. "But this is important," Zack said without missing a beat. "I found Max…but Manticore has her now."

"Ok…" Alec said slowly. It sucked that Manticore got one of Ben's unit mates, but he didn't know what that had to do with them.

"We have to get her back," Zack said.

"We?" Alec asked. "We have to get her back? Why we? I don't even know Max."

"Alec, she's part of our unit," Ben said. "We can't just leave her there."

He ran his hand down his face and tried not to explode. They had left him and every other transgenic back at Manticore and hadn't cared about what would happen to them. He only felt loyalty to Ben and Zack because Zack got him out and Ben was his real brother. He didn't owe Max anything, and he really didn't owe her his life, because if they did this, then there was no coming back. He didn't know how Zack got in and got back out with him, but there was no way they could pull that off twice. So, instead of blowing up at Ben and Zack about how they didn't care about leaving people behind, he decided to go for a more reasonable approach. "There's no way we're getting in there again. After you broke me out, there's no way they didn't change their security. If we even try to do this, we're either going to get killed or captured. And in this scenario, dying is the better option."

"Which is why we need to get her out," Zack stressed.

He looked over at his brother and saw that he was silently begging him to agree to this. He sighed and asked, "Is there a plan?"

"Not yet," Zack said. "But there's a guy in Seattle who can help us."

"What even happened?" Alec asked, still trying not to explode.

"They got Tinga, another one from our unit, and Max wanted to go in and try to get her back out," Zack explained. "I told her no, that it was too dangerous, but she didn't listen to me. She knocked me out and left me a note telling me where she went and that if she wasn't back in the morning, then she was either dead or captured. I waited a week and I still hadn't heard from her, so I went to the perimeter of the compound. I waited a month before I just barely caught a glimpse of her. They have her and she's already been there over a month, so we need to come up with a plan and move fast."

"So, let me get this straight…they got Tinga and you said it was too dangerous to go, so Max went instead and got captured, and now it's suddenly a good idea to try to break in…am I missing something?" Alec asked.

"Tinga was already gone," Zack said. "She's gone and there's no getting her back, but we can still save Max."

"And why do you need us?" Alec challenged.

"Because three of us against Manticore is better than just one," Zack said. "We might have a chance if we come up with a plan, and then the three of us try to get her out."

"It's a suicide run," Alec said, shaking his head. But he owed Zack for getting him out in the first place; he should just be thankful for the time he was out of Manticore and leave it at that. "Alright…we can go see this guy in Seattle and come up with something…"

"Really?" Zack asked.

He took a deep breath and let it back out in a huff, "Yeah, really, but we've gotta tell Caleb bye before we leave."

"I grabbed your stuff from the cabin since we probably won't be back, um, for a while at least," Ben muttered.

He felt a pang of regret that they wouldn't ever see the cabin again. That cabin was his home and so was this houseboat, but they were probably going to die doing this, so he better just forget about the only homes he'd ever had. And now, he had to tell Caleb goodbye for real since he wasn't coming back from this, but he didn't want Caleb to know that this was the end.

He swallowed hard when Caleb slowly walked back into the room. He could tell the older man knew they were leaving and he probably wasn't going to see them ever again, but he just gave them all a small smile. "I guess this is it, huh boys?" Caleb asked.

"At least for a while," Ben said.

"Well, I've got more food, which you will be taking, and we'll go to the clinic to get as many supplies as I can give you," Caleb said.

"Thanks Caleb," Alec said.

"C'mon," Caleb said, nodding for them to get up, "You're gonna help me make another meal right now because I know you boys are still hungry. I know you're in a hurry, but you're gonna make time to eat. Can't send you away half starved…" He and Ben shared a smile and nodded even though he knew Zack was impatient to leave. "Well, c'mon, this food ain't gonna cook itself."

* * *

Logan breathed out in relief when Zack finally showed up again. He was a little startled to see the twins behind the tall transgenic, but this must be who Zack said he was going to go get to help. One of the twins looked around his place with curious interest while the other just leaned against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. He could tell that one didn't want to be here, but he was and he was going to help get Max back, so he couldn't be mad at him for that.

Zack had told them their names were Ben and Alec, but he couldn't for the life of him tell them apart. He was just glad they were willing to help get Max back. He knew one of them had been in Max's unit, which was probably why they were helping, but he was curious how the other one got out if he wasn't in Max's unit. He would've asked, but the most important thing was getting Max back and he didn't want to waste time with unnecessary questions.

"Were you able to hack into their system yet?" Zack asked as he walked over to his set up of computers.

He looked away from the twins and shook his head no, "They've got it locked down tighter than I expected. But there's a way in, I just have to find it."

"And how is that going to help us?" A low voice asked with a challenge. It was the twin who didn't want to be here. He probably thought this was pointless and was going to get them all killed. He was probably right, but he couldn't just leave Max in that place.

"If I can get into their system, then I can put in a loop of video that will play while we sneak in," Logan said.

"Won't work," the twin said. "Someone watches those cameras all the time and if one flickers even for a second, they'll send someone to go check it out."

"Then I'll send a virus to wipe them all out," Logan said. "That'll give us one less thing to worry about."

"Except if their cameras go down, then they'll double the guards until they can get them back up, which will make it twice as hard to get in," he said. "I don't know how Zack made it in before, but they aren't going to let it happen again."

"Alec, just try to help instead of shooting down every option Logan comes up with," the one who must be Ben said.

Alec rolled his eyes and pushed off of the wall to stalk forward, "Whatever he's come up with, it won't work. Nothing is going to work and the sooner we accept that, the sooner we can go get ourselves killed."

"I got in once, which means it can happen again," Zack said. "Obviously they'd be ready for a repeat, but they wouldn't be ready for the three of us trying to get in."

"So, only two out of the three of us will die while the other can go get Max," Alec said.

"Not if we come up with a good plan," Ben said. "We just need to find a way in first, and then we can work on getting back out. We just need to figure this out one step at a time instead of trying to figure out the whole thing all at once."

Alec was quiet for a minute, but then he frowned, "We need someone on the inside…"

"Max doesn't know we're coming, so that's not going to help us," Zack said.

"No…one of us needs to go back," Alec said. "One of us needs to get captured, so we have someone on the inside that can find Max, and then when it's time, they can get to the control room to take out the guard and watch them cameras. And it would be better to hack into their security system for the alarms and the door locks instead of the cameras, that way we could open whatever door we wanted and could turn off the alarm, so more guards wouldn't be called in, but we need someone in there first."

"You want one of us to go back?" Zack asked in disbelief. "The whole point of this is to get Max out!"

"And how do you expect to find her before we all die?!" Alec asked back. "It's smart to have someone on the inside and you both know it."

"Alec-"

"I'll go back," Alec quickly cut off. "I haven't been out that long, I can spin a story about what happened, and then I can find Max. I know the compound better than either of you, so it makes sense that I'm the one that goes. It's my idea anyway, so it should be me."

"Alec, I'm not letting you do this," Ben said. "I just found out I had a real brother…I'm not losing you now."

"Ben, if we all go in and try to attack them, we'll all die," Alec said.

"Besides, you don't even know what Max looks like," Zack pointed out, clearly still on Ben's side.

Alec looked to him and asked, "Do you know Max?" He nodded, so Alec asked, "How long has she lived in Seattle?"

"I don't know, for a while at least," Logan said.

"And obviously you're good with computers, right?" Alec asked.

"Alec, where are you going with this?" Ben asked.

"Some camera some where had to get a picture of her, so you can pull it up and I can get a look at Max," Alec said. "It's not that complicated, but if you can't do it, then I'll just look for the one person that everyone hates."

"Hates?" Logan asked. "Why would everyone hate her?"

"Because she escaped," Alec said. "Which is another reason why I should go instead of you two."

"You escaped too," Ben said.

"No, I was kidnapped," Alec stated. "I don't know why the transgenic broke in to get me out, but he must have thought I was 493. Once he figured it out, it was too late to go back, so he got me out, using me as a human shield on the way out. That's the story I'll give to them."

"Why were you gone for four months?" Zack asked. He was surprised that Zack sounded like he was going to go along with Alec's plan, especially since it sounded like Zack went to the trouble to get Alec out in the first place. He still didn't know why, but it seemed weird to just let him go back in, but if it meant getting Max back, then he wouldn't argue.

"When I woke up, I didn't know where I was," Alec said. "I'd lost a lot of blood and had to recuperate before I could make my way back to the compound. It took a long time since I didn't have any transportation and no money, so I had to walk and steal what I could to get back."

Zack looked to Ben and said, "It's believable…"

"No. No, he's not going back there. None of us are," Ben said. "I don't care that this plan makes sense, we're not going back like that. Even if they believe his story…"

Ben turned around, running his hand through his hair, but Alec walked over to him and put his hand on his shoulder. "Ben, I'll be ok," Alec whispered. "I lived there almost my whole life, so I know what to expect."

"You're out now…you shouldn't have to ever go through that again," Ben said.

"Max is back and it's going to be worse for her than it is for me," Alec said. "You guys have been out for too long, which means she'll have to be re-indoctrinated. I'll only get punished for taking so long to get back. It'll be fine."

"I still don't like it," Ben muttered.

"If you have a better idea, I'm all ears," Alec said. He waited a minute to see if Ben would come up with something, but he didn't. "Ben, this is the best plan and you know it. This is the only way we all make it out of this alive and we get Max out of there."

"I still don't like it," Ben repeated.

"You don't have to like it," Alec said with a smile. "Just come up with a good exit plan, ok?"

Ben took a deep breath, and then said, "Alright, but you're only doing this if we have a good plan to get you back out. I'm not leaving you in there, you hear me?"

"Wouldn't have it any other way," Alec said.

* * *

 _More soon..._


	8. Chapter 8

_For anyone who wanted to know what happened in between the time jump, don't worry, there will still be parts of it in the story. There will be flashbacks and they'll talk about it/remember it fondly throughout the rest of the story. And Caleb will still be in the story too for anyone who liked that character. On to the story, hope you enjoy!_

* * *

He startled awake as soon as Alec shifted next to him. They were sleeping on an air mattress in the middle of Logan's place while Zack was sleeping on the sofa. It had taken his brother a lot longer than usual to fall asleep and now he wasn't even sleeping very well.

But he'd been expecting this. Alec was willingly going back to Manticore and as much as his brother tried to pretend that everything was fine, he could tell that it was tearing him apart. It'd been two days since Alec had decided he was going back to Manticore and this was the first time he'd even tried to sleep. He'd tried to talk him out of it multiple times, but his brother wouldn't budge. He wanted Max back, but he didn't want to lose his brother.

Alec shifted again, so he put his arm over Alec's waist so he'd stop moving. "Sorry," Alec whispered.

"You wanna go for a run?" Ben asked, trying to find a way to help Alec think about something else.

"'M too tired…" Alec slurred.

"Then go back to sleep," Ben said. Alec needed to sleep as much as possible now because he wasn't going to get much sleep once he was back in Manticore. "I'm not going anywhere," Ben reassured.

Alec fell asleep again, but it didn't last long. He could practically hear his brother's heart pounding right before he shot up in bed and looked around in panic. "Dammit," Alec growled, throwing off the covers before he stood up and walked to the kitchen. He slowly followed his brother and just waited him out. Alec ran his hand through his hair and shook his head, "I have to get at least a couple hours of sleep without completely freaking out…They'll be watching, and it'll be worse if they think I'm having nightmares."

He wanted to tell Alec that he didn't have to do this, but he knew that wouldn't get him anywhere. "Just try to think about the stream," Ben said. "Imagine that you're sitting in your chair, just looking out at the stream. Keep that in your head all the time. You're not there, you're at the cabin. They aren't torturing you because you're at the cabin. That's where you're at all the time. That's your favorite place and they can't take it away from you because it's real."

Alec took a deep breath and slowly nodded, "Alright…I'll try it…"

"And if it doesn't work, then try something else," Ben said. "Like chopping wood over and over again or sitting around at Caleb's house watching TV. Just pick something that's not about Manticore and focus on that."

"Y'know, I hated that cabin," Alec whispered. "It was drafty, it leaked when it rained, we had to go outside to even pee…But that's the only place I wanna be right now…"

"I know you liked the cabin," Ben said with a small smirk. "You spent as much time as you could outside looking at that stream and I know you liked the fresh air."

"I hate Seattle's air," Alec said.

He laughed and shook his head in amusement, "It's not that bad, but I do miss the mountain air."

Alec was quiet for a few minutes before he admitted, "I'm scared of going back…I hate psy-ops, I hate it so much…"

"But you didn't think you were going to be re-indoctrinated," Ben said with a frown.

"Yeah, but I'm a frequent flyer in psy-ops," Alec muttered. "I can take the beatings, those don't scare me, but that stupid laser…" A shudder ran through his brother as he thought about psy-ops.

"Hey, let's get out of here," Ben suggested. "We can get a drink, play some pool…I'll even help you pick a fight if you want."

Alec chuckled, "All of my favorite things all rolled into one night…"

"I'm still hoping I can change your mind," Ben said.

"I told you, if you can come up with a better plan, I'm all for it," Alec said. "But you know this is the best way even though it sucks."

"Alec…we're brothers and we've only known each other a little over four months…I don't want to lose you," Ben said. "There's no guarantee that this is gonna work…they might just kill you as soon as you get there. Or we might die trying to get you out, and then you'll be stuck there. There's too much that could go wrong…"

"Ben, if I don't go, then Max is stuck there or dead," Alec stated. "I know she means a lot to you and Zack, so I've gotta do this."

"You mean a lot to me too and I'm not willing to give you up," Ben said. "I've lived without Max. I've been on my own for a long time, but I'm used to having a brother now."

"I'll be alright," Alec said. "But if you think it's too dangerous to come get me, then I'll just escape from the inside. I don't want you to die because of this."

"No, the last time you escaped you got shot and that was with Zack's help," Ben said.

"Then I'll convince Max to break out with me," Alec said with a smirk. "Shouldn't be too hard since she's done it before too."

"No," Ben said. "If we can't figure out how to get you out, then we're not doing this. I hate leaving Max in there, but I told you, I'm not losing you."

Alec just nodded and patted his chest as he walked by him, "I'm gonna try to sleep a little more. You comin'?"

He sighed, "Yeah, I'll be there in a minute." He had to find a way to stop Alec from doing this; he couldn't lose his brother.

* * *

They argued for weeks, and they still didn't have an exit plan for him. He was tired of waiting; he'd made up his mind and now he just wanted to get on with it. He couldn't handle Ben asking him to stay at least four times a day. He wanted to stay, but he also knew his brother wouldn't be able to leave Max there, so they would all get themselves killed to try to get her back out.

So, he avoided Ben and Zack as much as he could, and it turned out that Logan wanted Max out even more than they did. Logan didn't try to talk him out of his plan, so he hung around the computer nerd and tried to learn as much as he could about the security system and the basics of hacking in case he needed them.

"This is taking too long…" Logan grumbled. He glanced up from the book Logan had given him, but didn't say anything. "I thought we would've already had part of a plan, but we still have nothing."

"We have half of a plan," Alec said unhelpfully. He liked Logan ok, but it was fun to bug the man since it was so easy.

"That's not helping," Logan muttered.

He shrugged, "It's better than no plan." He put his feet up on the desk and slouched a little to get more comfortable. Logan glared at his feet, but he didn't say anything. He knew he wouldn't since none of them were griping at him anymore. Ben usually hated it when he left his shoes in the middle of the room because he would trip over them, but he hadn't said anything to him since they'd gotten there, and he'd been purposefully leaving them where his brother would trip over them.

Obviously, they were tiptoeing around him, so he'd push until he finally got on their last nerves. He wanted things to feel normal; he was freaking out enough by himself, he didn't need their help to do it.

"So…was Zack here for four months…or was he just here for, I don't know…two months?" Alec asked. He was going for casual, but Zack had never said if he'd been here the whole time that he'd been gone or if he'd gone somewhere else. He thought of Zack as an older brother, and he knew Zack thought of him as his little brother, so it was weird that he was keeping something from him and Ben.

"Yeah, I don't know, maybe," Logan said, looking back to his computers. "I wasn't around him the whole time. I think he stayed with Max, but he'd disappear sometimes too."

"I see," Alec said.

"How bad do you think it is for Max?" Logan asked.

He took a deep breath and asked back, "How much do you know about Manticore?"

"Not a lot," Logan replied honestly.

"Well, then, it's probably not pleasant, but she'll be fine," Alec said with a fake smile.

"You don't have to sugarcoat it," Logan said. "You can tell me the truth."

He rubbed the back of his neck and dropped his feet from the desk, "Alright, _if_ we get her back, then we'll be lucky if she's in one piece. I was in psy-ops when Zack came and got me, and I couldn't even move by myself. Zack had to drag me out of there…"

Logan swallowed hard and nodded, "So…don't get my hopes too high…"

"She's probably still alive," Alec said. "It takes a lot of time to make the perfect soldier, so it would be a waste to kill her."

"You really think you can find her once you're in there?" Logan asked.

"As long as they don't put me on lockdown," Alec said honestly. "I'm hoping I'll just get punished, spend a few weeks with heavy surveillance, and then they'll let me go back to regular status."

"How likely is that scenario?" Logan asked.

"How much of this are you going to tell Ben and Zack?" Alec asked back.

"I just want Max back," Logan said. "And so far, you're the best option. And I know if I tell them whatever you tell me, then they'll find a way to keep you from going."

"It's very unlikely that things are going to go the way I want them to," Alec said. "I was in psy-ops before Zack broke me out, so it's pretty likely I'll go back there. But…I don't think it'll be for very long. I'm still the best chance of finding her."

Logan nodded but then tried, "We could still try to find another way…"

"And waste more time?" Alec asked with a small smirk. "Ben's already trying to talk me out of this, I don't need you to do it too." Logan was quiet, so he decided to change the subject, "So, is Max your girlfriend or something?"

"Or something…" Logan muttered, looking back at his computers.

"You want her to be your girlfriend?" Alec asked, refusing to drop it. Logan obviously liked Max, otherwise, why would he be willing to do all of this?

"Max…she's complicated, that's all," Logan said.

"Hey," Ben said, running into the room. "Let's go explore the city."

"Really?" Alec asked skeptically. "We've been here how long and now you suddenly want to explore?"

"Well, we've only lived in a little town, so I thought it'd be fun to explore…" Ben said. "We don't have to if you don't want to…I just thought we could hang out…"

"Bye Logan," Alec said with a wide smile. He knew he couldn't put Manticore off very much longer, so he was going to hang out with his brother even if he was just going to try to convince him to stay.

Ben smiled too, and they took off to see the rest of the city.

* * *

He wanted to tell his brother over and over again that he didn't have to go back, but he wasn't going to ruin his time with his brother. He knew they didn't have a plan to get Alec and Max out, so he still had time, but his brother would go back eventually, so he had to make this time count.

Seattle was kind of a dump compared to Quilcene. He knew the Pulse destroyed a lot of places, but Quilcene was kind of special. It helped that is was a small town, so not much changed when the Pulse happened. It'd been rough for him and his brother to settle into the small-town life, but they'd figured it out and had actually started to like it. Seattle just wasn't the place for them as far as he could tell.

But if they did get Max and they decided to come back here, he'd have a hard time agreeing to leave. He wanted to be with his unit, and now he might get to have that chance. But if Alec didn't want to stay in Seattle, then they'd leave. He knew Alec was only going back to Manticore for him, so whatever Alec wanted after this was all over, he was going to get it.

"Jeez…I can hear you thinking all the way over here…" Alec teased, bumping his shoulder into his own. "Relax Ben, let's just hang out, ok?"

"Ok," Ben said, easily agreeing with his brother.

"I wanna find somewhere to sit and watch the water," Alec said.

He pushed his brother to the side and jokingly asked, "You sure you don't have fish in your DNA somewhere?"

"I don't want to get _in_ the water," Alec replied. "I just like to sit and watch it. It's…I don't know…it's comforting…or peaceful, or whatever."

He smiled at his brother and ruffled his hair. Alec tried to bat his hand away, but he was still his little brother even if he'd been in Manticore longer than he had. And he knew Alec secretly liked it when he messed up his hair. They'd seen it on TV once at Caleb's place. Alec had immediately asked their friend why the person on TV had messed up the other guy's hair, and Caleb had said it was because the two were brothers and that's what brothers did. So, he'd reached over and messed up Alec's hair, making his brother laugh and try to hit his hand away, and now he just did it to mess with his brother.

"I'm gonna miss you," Ben said sadly.

"Hey, we're just relaxing today, remember?" Alec asked with a frown. "I don't want to think about it anymore than you do."

"Alec, just because we don't talk about it-"

"I know it's still going to be there even if we don't talk about it," Alec cut off. "Let's just pretend, ok? I just want to sit by the water one more time before everything happens."

He took a deep breath and finally nodded; if Alec wanted to pretend one more time, then he could pretend for his brother. "There's a bench over there if you wanna sit…" Ben said.

"Sure," Alec agreed.

They walked over to the bench and sat down, just looking out at the water. They'd walked a ways to get to the water, but it was worth it. Alec was more relaxed when he was looking out at the stream at their cabin, and sitting on the bench now was helping him too.

"It's weird walking around without anyone watching our every move," Alec said with a small smile.

He huffed out a laugh and said, "I got used to it, so I didn't notice it as much as you did."

"Every time we went to town it was the same thing," Alec said. "Everyone watched us because we were new and we didn't belong."

"And you picked a fight with about half of them," Ben pointed out. "That didn't help with the staring…"

His brother smiled and nodded, "I loved that bar…Not so sure how much the bar like me though…"

He shook his head in amusement, "Pretty sure they hated you there. You just could never keep your mouth under control."

"My pool skills pissed them off too," Alec said with a wide smile.

"No, your _hustling_ skills pissed them off," Ben corrected. "And you know how many times they thought I was you? Nate sucker punched me as soon as I walked in that one time because he thought I was you. Remember that?"

Alec laughed, "The look on your face…That was one of the funniest things I've ever seen."

"And Caleb was with us," Ben said.

"Yeah, he looked down at you while you were on the floor and asked, 'What the Hell did you do, son?' I think I just about died I was laughing so hard," Alec said, still laughing.

"I was so mad at you," Ben said. "I almost couldn't decide if I wanted to punch you more or Nate…"

"And then I convinced Nate to buy me a drink," Alec said. "That was awesome…"

He took a deep breath and looked down at his hands. "I don't want you to go…"

"Ben-"

"I don't, Alec," Ben said. "I don't want to lose you. I don't like this plan… At least if we were all on the outside breaking in, then we could die together, and you wouldn't have to be tortured first. It would be quick, and I'd be ok with it because I would know that it could've been worse."

"But I don't want you to die," Alec said.

"I don't want you to die either," Ben hissed. "And I don't want you to be tortured because I know that's what's going to happen. If me and Zack are able to get in there and get you and Max…it'll be a miracle if you're still alive, if Max is still alive. I know you're just doing this because you think I need Max back, but that's not all I need. I need my brother."

"If we don't try, you'll regret it for the rest of your life," Alec said. "You'll know every day that Max is there, and there's nothing you can do about it."

"And if you go, then I'll know you're there too," Ben said quietly.

"Ben…"

"If you go, then I will be coming in to get you back," Ben said. "Then we can both die anyway."

Alec's jaw clenched, but all he said was, "If you can figure out a better plan, then I'll listen."

He sighed when Alec stood up and started to walk away without him. He ran after his brother and walked with him even though he knew he was mad at him right now. They didn't have a lot of time left and they both knew it.

"See, it's weird," Alec said after about a block. "We just had a fight out in the open and no one is talking about it…"

He rolled his eyes and played along, "No one cared in Quilcene if we had a fight except for Caleb."

" _Everyone_ cared," Alec quickly corrected. "Remember that one fight in front of the clinic? People were talking about that for weeks…"

"That's because we both needed stitches after that fight," Ben said.

"And you nearly broke my arm," Alec grumbled, but he knew Alec was remembering their fight fondly. His brother was really weird sometimes…

"I did not," Ben said, even though Alec was right. "It was barely bruised."

"Barely…Are you kidding me?!" Alec asked incredulously. "Caleb was freaking out when we came in and I know he was freaking out over me more than he was you."

"He was not! He thought I could have internal bleeding!" Ben countered.

They argued back and forth the rest of the way to Logan's apartment. He smiled when Alec finally gave in and agreed with him, and so he messed up Alec's hair again. He really didn't want his brother to go, but he didn't want to fight about it anymore either. They'd come up with an exit plan soon, and then Alec would leave, so he didn't want to waste time with arguing.

* * *

He made sure Ben was completely asleep before he slowly got off of their air mattress. He left the note for Ben tucked under his pillow and put his favorite gun on the coffee table even though he felt naked without it. But he needed to make it believable if this was going to work, which meant he needed to leave now and walk back to Manticore. And he couldn't wake Ben up because then his brother would talk him out of it.

He ignored the fact that they didn't have an escape plan for him because he needed to do this now. Ben kept trying to talk him out of it, and pretty soon he was going to cave because he really didn't want to go back. He knew it was going to be bad, even with his story, but he also knew Ben and Zack would be crushed if another one from their unit died. He saw Ben's face when Zack said Tinga was dead, and he didn't want his brother to have to live with the fact that Max was gone too.

"So, you're not even gonna say goodbye?" Zack asked from behind him.

He whirled around in surprise, but then looked over at Ben in panic. If Ben woke up, then this was all over… "I'm just getting some fresh air," Alec whispered.

Zack looked at Ben too, and then looked at his gun lying on the coffee table. "That would've been believable, except you never go anywhere without your gun…" Zack said.

"Don't let him follow me," Alec said. "You guys just work on getting me back out, ok?"

"Alec…"

"I can't put it off any longer or I won't go at all," Alec said.

"You don't have to go," Zack tried. "We can figure something else out…"

"Zack, the longer she stays in there, the worse it's going to be for her," Alec said. "She needs someone on her side in there until you guys can get her out."

"Get you _both_ out," Zack corrected.

"Zack…"

"If you die, that will destroy him," Zack said. "You're the only reason he hasn't spiraled out of control, and you leaving…that's going to be hard enough, so you better be alive when we get you back."

"I'll try, ok? But we both know this is going to be next to impossible to pull off," Alec said.

"You can't go like this," Zack said.

"I'll knock you out if I have to, but I'm doing this now," Alec warned.

Zack took a deep breath, but then said, "Ok, fine, just…just be careful…"

"See you soon," Alec said with a smirk before he took off. He had to go now, or else he never would. This was going to suck, but he trusted his brother… _brothers._ They would get him out of this, he just had to do his part.

* * *

"What the Hell is he thinking?!" Ben yelled, pacing back and forth across Logan's living room. His brother was gone. His brother had left in the middle of the night without even telling him. He didn't even get to say goodbye to his brother. He might not ever see him again all because his brother was a big, stupid jerk. "He left?! We don't even have a plan to get him back out!" Ben yelled.

"Ben…he knew you wouldn't let him leave," Zack explained. "And he said if-"

"You talked to him?! You talked to him and you didn't wake me up?!" Ben shouted, whirling around to face Zack.

"He-"

"I might not ever get to see him again! He could die doing this!" Ben yelled, but he was losing his momentum and it was really starting to sink in. His eyes filled with tears, and then he whispered, "I didn't even get to say goodbye…"

"So, we get him back," Zack said. "We let him do his part, and we figure out ours. Ben, we'll get him back."

"You don't know that," Ben said. "They might shoot him on sight…I just got a little brother, and now I might not ever get to see him again." He ran his hand down his face and turned away from Zack. He knew why Alec did it, but he still didn't like it. He hadn't liked any part of his brother's stupid plan, and he liked it even less now that his brother put it into motion.

His eyes landed on Alec's gun that was lying on the coffee table and almost lost it again. His brother hadn't even taken his gun with him…how was he going to protect himself if he didn't even take his gun with him? He frowned when he suddenly saw a piece of paper sticking out from under Alec's pillow.

He quickly walked over and snatched up the piece of paper. He was just about to read it as fast as he could but decided against it when he remembered he wasn't alone. "I…I'm gonna take a walk," Ben whispered.

"Ben, we can't go after him," Zack said. "We have to let him do this."

"I'm not gonna go after him," Ben said. He held up with paper for Zack to see and said, "He left me a note…I just wanna go outside to read it."

"Ok," Zack said.

He walked past Zack and out of Logan's apartment, but he knew just being outside wouldn't be enough. He had to find somewhere Alec would like to be; he had to go to the water. He practically ran to the spot they'd been at yesterday and opened the note as soon as he was sitting on the bench.

 _'Don't be mad at me because it won't do either of us any good, and that goes for coming after me too. All you need to do right now is figure out how to break in and get me out again. I don't want to be here anymore than you want me to be here, so figure out how to get me back, ok? I want to see the cabin again and that stupid little town…Hell, I'll even stay in Seattle if it means you got me out of Manticore. I know you can do this, so just trust me to do my part. I'll find Max, and then you and Zack can rescue us both._

 _I'm sorry about not waking you up, but this is the only way I'd be able to walk out of those doors. You're my brother and you're the best thing to ever happen to me. I know we've had our differences, but I know you have my back. I've known it since the first time you said it to me in that crappy motel room Zack dumped us in. I trusted you before I even knew you, which is saying a lot._

 _Don't take too long to come get me. I don't want to be brainwashed and have to start all over again. I've made some pretty impressive leaps in this whole getting used to being free thing and I don't want to start back at the beginning. But just make sure you've got a good plan before you come in guns blazing. I don't want either of us to die because we won't get mixed up anymore if one of us dies, and where's the fun in that?_

 _I'll be careful, I won't run my mouth, and I'll still be alive when you get here._

 _Alec'_

He took in a shuddering breath after he'd made it through Alec's note for the third time. His brother was scared, but he went anyway. Why did he do this? That was stupid, he knew the reason why, but he didn't want to think about it. He didn't want Alec to be back in that place, but he couldn't change that now.

He stood up and slowly started to make his way back to Logan's. The only way he would be able to see his brother again, would be to come up with a plan to get him out of there. Alec was doing his part of the plan, so he would do his. He would get his brother back.

* * *

He startled awake as soon as the freezing water blasted into his face. He didn't get the warm welcome he'd painted for Ben and Zack, but it was the welcome _he'd_ been expecting. As soon as he'd crossed the fence he was surrounded by transgenics pointing their guns at him. He expected that. Then one of the transgenics had come forward, nearly tore his arm out of his socket, and forced him to the ground. Again, he'd expected that. They'd patted him down for weapons, and unfortunately, he hadn't shut off his mouth like he'd told his brother he would.

He'd told the transgenic patting him down to quit being handsy with him, which earned him a butt of a gun to the temple. His head was pounding, and he could tell his blood had dried down his face because it felt sticky and gross.

The freezing water blasted his face again, making him sputter and choke until it stopped. He coughed to try to get the water out, but that just made him sway. His arms were chained above his head and his bare toes just brushed the ground. He only had on his ripped jeans, but they were soaked and clung to his body like a second, very uncomfortable, skin. He hated being wet and cold, and the water they kept spraying him down with was, in fact, freezing. He had a higher body temperature because of his DNA, but his teeth were chattering nonstop and goosebumps covered his skin. He just wanted to be bundled up, safe and warm, in front of their fire at the cabin.

The cabin…Ben told him to think of the cabin when this was too much for him. He was pathetic and had only been there for two seconds, but he needed to think about the cabin. He wanted to forget where he was and just be at the cabin.

He closed his eyes and tried to forget about the freezing water spraying him down…He was in front of the fire. Ben was there. They were sharing beans even though he hated beans.

 _"C'mon, you gotta eat something because we have to go to work tomorrow," Ben said to him._

 _"Great…we get to work at a clinic with a man who has decided he's my doctor and felt so sorry for me that he just gave me a job to do nothing," Alec griped._

 _"He didn't give us jobs because he felt sorry for us," Ben argued, even though it was true._

 _"Whatever, I still don't want to go," Alec said. "I just want to nap on the sofa in front of the fire for the rest of my life…"_

 _"Yesterday you were begging to go down to the stream, and now you don't want to do anything," Ben teased. "I can see the cat DNA showing through…"_

 _"Shut up, I like taking naps," Alec said. "The fire is awesome, my bed is awesome, I just don't see why we need to get jobs in the first place. I thought free meant free…"_

 _Ben chuckled, "How do you expect to eat if we don't have any money?"_

 _"How should I know? The food always just shows up when it's supposed to," Alec said._

 _"Food doesn't just magically appear, Alec," Ben said in amusement. "We have to work if we want to eat."_

 _"Then what's the point of being free if we have to work?! Where's the fun in that?" Alec asked. "I thought I got to sleep and do whatever I wanted since I wasn't in Manticore anymore…"_

 _Ben took a deep breath and let it out in a huff, "You have so much to learn, little brother…"_

 _"Little brother?! We're twins," Alec said, even though he knew he was younger than Ben. Numerically, he came after Ben, which meant he came second, which means he's younger. But that didn't mean Ben had to rub it in._

 _"You're younger," Ben said. "And you can't argue-_

He cried out in pain as electricity suddenly shot through him.

Welcome home…

* * *

 _More soon..._


	9. Chapter 9

She was thrown into a new cell and she had no idea why, but she was past the point of questioning what they were doing to her. She frowned though when she saw the unconscious transgenic lying somewhat on the cot in the cell and somewhat off. There were smear marks of blood on the floor to the cot, which meant the transgenic had to drag himself from where the guards had dumped him to the cot.

She immediately felt sympathy for her fellow transgenic, but she didn't dare get close to him while he was unconscious since his first instinct would be to fight anyone he saw as a threat. But he looked young and vulnerable lying there with his leg off the cot and his arm thrown over his eyes. She could just barely see a spattering of freckles across his nose, which made him look even more vulnerable.

He was only wearing a ripped up pair of jeans that were soaked and were riding very low on his hips, but his chest was bare and it was way too obvious where he'd already been hurt. He had dark bruises on his sides, probably with some broken ribs, and there were red welts, probably burn marks, and there were three deep cuts in his skin. There was one cut up by his collarbone, one across his chest, and one above his hip bone, and all three were still bleeding, dripping down his side to pool on the cot. And something was wrong with his left arm…he had his right arm over his eyes, but his left arm was lying at an awkward angle on the cot. From what she could see of his face, he had even more bruises, which meant either he didn't get along well with others, or he sucked at following orders. She liked him a little more already just thinking that he didn't like following orders.

She scowled when she realized the freckles reminded her of someone. She couldn't quite place him, but he was so familiar. She went to the opposite side of the cell and sat on the floor, trying to think of how she might know him.

She might have seen him before in the hall or on the training field, but he felt more familiar than that. She didn't think she'd ever trained with him before since most of her exercises had been with her unit. Her unit…he had something to do with her unit. She had to see his barcode; she would know if he was one of her brothers if she saw his barcode. She wished Zack had told her everything he knew about their siblings so she would have some idea if she ever ran into one of them.

She slowly got up and walked back over to the transgenic. She had to know if he was one of her brothers, even if he tried to attack her when she checked.

She tugged on his left hand that was hanging off the cot, even though she knew that arm was hurt, hoping he would just wake up. Unfortunately, he didn't wake up, which wasn't surprising since he looked like he was half dead already, but it was worth a try. She tried to turn him to his side, but she didn't want to cause him more pain. But no matter what she did, she was causing him pain.

The smallest whimper she'd ever heard escaped his lips before he slowly started to move. She was lucky he didn't come out swinging, but she almost would have preferred that reaction. If he was able to fight, he would have, but he was too injured right now to fight.

"Hey," she said softly to try to soothe him, "my name's Max. Can you hear me?"

"F-finally…" he breathed. He was shivering too; either that or he was having seizures, but his lips looked a little blue, so she decided he was probably just really cold.

"What?" She asked with a scowl.

"I've b-been looking for you f-forever," he mumbled without moving his arm from over his eyes.

"Were you in my unit?" She asked, holding her breath just praying he was one of her brothers. He moved as slowly as he could, moving his arm and revealing his bright green eyes. His left eye was severely bloodshot, probably because of the laser, but his eyes were still unmistakable. She nearly gasped when she realized this was Ben. Only Ben had those bright green eyes. "Ben?" She asked with a small, hopeful smile.

"Close," he said with a smirk. "I'm his tw-twin, Alec."

"Twin?!" Max asked in surprise. "I didn't know Ben had a twin."

" _Has_ a tw-twin," Alec corrected. "I'm not d-dead…yet."

"How…how did…what…" she had no idea what to ask. How did Alec and Ben meet? How did Alec get out of Manticore and how did he get back in? Where was Ben? Was Ben in Manticore? Did they meet at Manticore? Why was Alec looking for her?

"L-look, I know you've got a t-ton of questions, b-but I'm barely stayin' awake here," Alec mumbled. "And there's pr-probably not a l-lot of time before they come b-back for me…"

"Can I just ask one question before I leave you alone?" Max asked softly.

"Sure," Alec breathed, his energy clearly almost gone.

"How did you and Ben meet?" She asked.

He chuckled weakly and shook his head in amusement, "Of course you would p-pick the question with the longest answer…"

"I'm sorry," Max said. "You don't have to answer."

"It's alright," Alec said. "Just d-don't ask too many other questions, ok? I'll j-just tell you the b-basics for now."

"Ok," Max said.

"Zack saw me while I was on a m-mission, but he couldn't g-get me out then," Alec said. "But he came back for me and br-broke me out and took me to Ben and we lived in the m-mountains in a cabin for a while. But then Zack came back after M-manticore got you again, and we came up with this p-plan to get you back out."

"Guess it didn't work, huh?" Max said.

"I n-never said it wasn't working," Alec said with a smirk. "This is the p-plan."

He had to be joking, but even though he was smirking, he didn't look like he was joking. "And what's your genius plan to get back out?" Max asked, crossing her arms over her chest in defiance.

"I d-don't think w-we should be talking about th-this in here…" Alec muttered. "If th-the walls have eyes, th-then they probably have ears t-too."

"You didn't care a second ago when you told me you broke in just to break me back out," Max said.

"Th-that's because they already know I br-broke in," Alec said.

"Are you having a seizure or what?" Max snapped.

"I'm fr-freezing," Alec shot back. "They th-think it's funny to sp-spray me down and electrocute m-me, so sue m-me for sh-shivering."

She touched his arm again and frowned when she felt how cold he really was. "You're gonna get sick…"

"Transgenics d-don't get sick," Alec pointed out.

"Even transgenics have their limits," Max said. "And they left you in wet clothes, so yeah, you're gonna get sick."

"Wh-whatever," Alec said, deflating again. "Can you p-pop my shoulder b-back into place before they come back?"

"Alec…"

"I know it-it'll just pop out again," Alec said. "It j-just hurts right n-now…"

He was a lot more annoying than Ben, she decided. He talked more and he was sarcastic and annoying, but then he admits that he's in pain and suddenly she's feeling sorry for him again. He was in pain, so maybe sarcasm was just a defense mechanism.

"T-today would be nice," Alec said impatiently. Or maybe he really was just annoying.

She huffed and forced him to sit up, ignoring his groan of pain. His skin was freezing, and she could tell he was trying not to shiver while she was touching him. She quickly popped his shoulder back into place without warning him. He took in a sharp breath, which probably killed his ribs, and then he sagged against her, losing the rest of his energy.

"Th-thanks…" Alec breathed. She carefully lowered him back down to the cot, and wished that she had a blanket that she could put over him. "W-wake me up when th-they come back, ok?" Alec asked softly.

"Ok," She whispered. Annoying or not, they were in this together. He was the first person who had actually talked to her, and he was here to get her out even if she thought it was the stupidest plan in the whole world. But they were in this together.

* * *

Three weeks. Alec had been in Manticore for three weeks now and there was no end in sight. He wanted to just storm in and get his brother back, but he couldn't do that. Zack still had to talk him out of it on a regular basis, but he felt worse every day that Alec was still there.

Alec wouldn't even be there right now if it weren't for him. Alec was only doing this because he thought this was what he wanted. But it sounded like Max knew what the consequences would be, and she did it anyway. He didn't want to just condemn her to staying at Manticore forever, but he'd rather have Alec here with him.

"Ben, c'mon, time to eat," Zack said from Logan's kitchen. His stomach rolled at just the thought of trying to eat something. Alec was probably being tortured right now and they were about to have dinner instead of coming up with a plan to get him out.

He ignored Zack, and instead crossed off another plan that would get them all killed. He was frustrated, which was making him want to do something that he'd promised Alec that he wouldn't do. Alec had convinced him that the Blue Lady wouldn't change things just because he sacrificed someone to her, and he'd promised his brother that he wouldn't sacrifice people anymore, but that's all he wanted to do right now. He wanted his brother back and sacrificing someone could get him back.

 _"Hey, look at me, ok?" Alec said, getting in his personal space. He tried to look around his brother to see his target, but Alec moved again, so he was the only thing he could see. "Just look at me. I'm the only one here. That guy doesn't exist and nothing you do to him will change anything."_

 _"Alec, I have to…" Ben said._

 _"No, you don't," Alec stated. "What is it that you're trying to change or fix?"_

 _"I just…I just want to make sure we stay safe," Ben whispered._

 _"Ben, that's what guns are for," Alec said with a teasing smile. "Besides, between the two of us I'm pretty sure we could take on any Manticore soldiers that are stupid enough to try to take us back because we're awesome. You're the brains, I'm the brawn, so we're gonna be fine."_

 _"And I want to make sure you won't leave," Ben admitted._

 _Alec chuckled and asked, "Where would I go? I only know three people outside of Manticore and I didn't even know that I had to work to get money to buy food. I need someone who knows the outside world to show me the ropes, and who better to show me than my older brother."_

 _"What about when you know how to survive on your own?" Ben asked._

 _Alec sighed, "Ben, we're brothers, and I don't want to go anywhere else. You're just gonna have to trust me on this one."_

 _"I trust you," Ben said._

 _"So trust me when I say you don't have to sacrifice to keep me here," Alec said. "I'm sticking around."_

 _"Ok…"_

 _"Promise you won't sacrifice people and I'll promise not to leave," Alec said._

 _He looked at his brother for a minute, and then nodded, "Ok, I promise not to sacrifice people."_

 _"And I promise not to leave," Alec said._

But Alec had broken his promise. He was gone now, and he was the only one who could get him back. He knew Alec wouldn't have broken his promise under normal circumstances, but his brother thought he wanted Max back more than he wanted him to stick around.

But even though he was frustrated, and Alec had broken his promise, he wasn't going to break his. Alec wouldn't want him to sacrifice anyone, especially to try to get him back. He would get his brother back, or he was going to die trying.

* * *

He held his side and limped down the hall, a guard on either side of him. He knew they were going to psy-ops, and he really didn't want to go, but he didn't have a choice. They would drag him there if he didn't cooperate, which wouldn't help him at all. He needed to be ready for when Zack and Ben came to break them out, so he needed to try to keep his mouth shut when the guards decided it was time for a beat down.

He sat in the chair once they were in the room, and he let them strap him down and connect electrodes to his chest to monitor his heartrate. His eyelid was taped up, so his eye would remain open as they brought the laser over to him.

He immediately went to his happy place, so he could escape the torture.

 _"Hey, you're safe," Ben soothed, gently shaking his shoulder. He looked around to see that he had fallen asleep on the sofa in front of the fire. "You were having a nightmare," Ben said._

 _"Oh…"_

 _"But you're at the cabin and I'm here and we're both safe," Ben reassured._

 _"Sorry," Alec muttered._

 _"Hey, we both get nightmares. It's ok," Ben said. "Here, I brought you some water." He let Ben help him get a drink, and then his brother tucked a blanket around him. Usually he didn't let Ben take care of him unless he knew Ben needed to help someone, but that nightmare was always the worst. He hated dreaming about psy-ops because they were always way too realistic. "Do you want to talk about it?" Ben asked._

 _"No…I…it's not something I talk about," Alec said._

 _"Ok," Ben said. "Do you wanna go sit out on the porch? It's raining, but that's always nice to just sit outside and listen to it rain."_

 _"Is it cold?" Alec asked. He didn't want to go out if it was cold. It was warm in the cabin, and as much as he loved the porch, he would rather stay inside instead._

 _"It's not terrible," Ben said. "But it's dark, so you won't be able to see any water."_

 _"It's warm in here," Alec said, snuggling under his blanket. "I think I'll stay right here…"_

 _Ben chuckled, and then teased, "You want some warm milk too?"_

 _"Like we have any milk in this cabin," Alec said._

 _"We did, but you drank it all," Ben said._

 _"I didn't drink it all," Alec argued._

 _"Yes you did, otherwise we would still have some," Ben said. "You always drink all the milk."_

 _"I can't help it," Alec replied. "It's in my DNA to like milk." Ben rolled his eyes, but he dropped the argument since he knew he wouldn't win. He smiled a little since he really liked having a brother to argue with and to hang out with all the time. He looked over to the door and decided he'd rather stay awake and go outside instead of sleep and possibly go back to psy-ops. "Alright, let's go outside," he said, acting like this was a big inconvenience._

 _"We don't have to if you don't want to," Ben said, easily seeing through his act._

 _"No, let's go," Alec said. "You talked me into it. Besides, it beats the alternative."_

 _Ben didn't push to find out what he meant about the alternative, which was good because he still didn't want to talk about it. But they went outside and sat in their porch chairs. He loved sitting on the porch even if it was raining. It was still nice though, even with the rain. The rain actually was kind of soothing to listen to, and it wasn't so bad since they weren't actually getting wet._

 _"I think you secretly like it here," Ben said after a while._

 _He didn't answer since it was obviously true. He did like it here even if he didn't want to admit it. He hadn't liked it at first, but now he couldn't imagine being anywhere else._

He cried out in pain as electricity suddenly shot through his system.

"We have a rhythm," one of the labcoats said. The man had paddles to a defibrillator in his hands, which meant he wasn't actually being tortured this time, he was just being brought back to life. He almost wished they hadn't succeeded, but he knew he couldn't think like that. He had to still be alive when Ben came back to get him.

But that meant he probably shouldn't zone out when he was being tortured anymore, even though the only place he wanted to be was back at the cabin.

"Take him back to his cell," the labcoat said.

"We were told-"

"If Renfro wants him alive, then you'll take him back," the labcoat said. "She can have my report in an hour if she wants to question my decision."

The guards didn't say anything else, and someone started to take the electrodes off his chest and unstrapped him from the chair. He couldn't move even though he knew it was time to get up. Two guards walked over to him and got him up. He was surprised that they were actually being gentle with him, but he wasn't about to complain.

He actually felt relief when he was brought back to his cell. The guards opened the door and tossed him in, but gentle hands caught him before he could hit the floor.

"Alec?"

He passed out before he could reassure her that he was ok.

* * *

Max helped him sit up, but he had to clench his jaw to hold in the sound of pain. "Alec, you need to breathe," Max said, leaning him against the wall of the cell. "It'll help to actually breathe."

If looks could kill, Max would have died at least six times already. If he had enough air to tell her where to shove all of her stupid advice, then he'd probably have another black eye. But he nearly passed out just sitting up, so there was no way he could waste his breath on telling Max off. He leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes to try to stop the room from spinning.

"Hey, they brought some water," Max said. "Do you want a sip?"

"N-not yet," Alec breathed, needing just a few more seconds to get himself back together.

"Ok, just breat-"

"Max…" Alec complained. "Enough about my br-breathing." He was even colder than before, but he was almost too tired to shiver now.

"Fine," Max snapped. "Just tell me when you're ready for a drink." He kept his eyes closed though and tried really hard to fall asleep before Max could start bugging him again. He understood that she had a ton of questions, but he was still getting tortured every few hours, so telling Max every little detail wasn't at the top of his list of things to do. Top of the list was always sleep, but it seemed like that was the last thing he got to do. "Hey, don't fall asleep," Max said, hitting his leg. "You just passed out when they brought you back. We need to talk. And I don't care if the walls have ears or whatever you like to say, we need to talk."

He opened his eyes to glare at her again. "You d-do know I'm not going to g-get a spa treatment every time they take m-me out of here, right?" He didn't mention that he'd practically died and was brought back to life on his last trip out of there. He didn't want Max to worry about that.

"No kidding," Max deadpanned. "I understand that it hurts, but it's just going to get worse. The only way to make it stop is to get us out of here."

"D-don't worry," Alec waved off. "I'm more con-concerned with why they put us in the same cell t-together. That's pr-probably the weirdest thing th-they've done s-so far."

"Why?" Max asked.

"Max, we're b-both flight risks. We've both escaped b-before, so why would th-they put us in the same cell together? They've got s-something going on, and it's not g-gonna be anything good. It's not like they've s-suddenly got a speed dating for tr-transgenics thing going on or anything," Alec said.

"You're the worst," Max grumbled. "I get why Zack named you Alec."

"I can't h-help that I like to live up to m-my name," Alec quipped.

"Can we get back to the plan now?" Max asked impatiently.

"No," Alec stated, slumping against the wall. He heard Max huff, so he mumbled, "I h-hurt. I want to s-sleep while I can."

"Alec-"

"St-stop," Alec demanded, giving Max his best warning look. "I'm going to sleep. We b-both need to be ready when Ben and Zack come g-get us, but I can't b-be ready if I don't get any sleep."

"And I need to know what we need to be ready for," Max snapped. "I can't help you if I don't know what to expect."

"I don't know the r-rest of the p-plan!" Alec shouted, losing his grip on control for a moment. He took a semi-deep breath to calm down and said, "Our p-plan was to get someone on the inside t-to find you. I was the b-best option since I hadn't b-been out for very long. We wanted to m-move fast, so I went in before they had a real p-plan to get us out. My part of the p-plan was to find you and know where you were when th-they came in to get me. S-so, now we just need to st-stay alive until they come get us. It s-sucks to just wait around, but that's our p-plan."

"Are you serious?" Max asked. "That's your plan! That's the stupidest plan I've ever heard!"

"Why? B-because it's not yours?!" Alec asked back.

"No! Because if you send someone to be on the inside, then they're the best option to find a way out!" Max shouted.

"N-not if they get the shit b-beat out of them every couple hours!" Alec shouted back. Max finally deflated, so he tried again, "Is it ok if I s-sleep now?"

"Drink of water first," Max said softly. "You're dehydrated on top of everything else, so you need to drink." He let Max help him get a drink, and then rested against the wall again. His eyes filled with tears without his permission, but he quickly blinked them away. But he missed his brother. He missed getting taken care of and he missed their stupid cabin and working with Caleb and most of all, being out of Manticore. "Alec?" Max asked in concern.

"I m-miss being out…" he replied honestly. "Zack set me and B-ben up in this crappy little cabin up in the m-mountains and I hated it…it didn't even have p-plumbing…but now I miss it like crazy…"

"You guys lived up in the mountains? Where?" Max asked.

"Not too far fr-from Seattle," Alec said. "Ben was p-pissed when he found out how close we were to you, b-but Zack kept it a secret. He thought it was t-too dangerous for too m-many of us to be around each other, and I agreed, which also m-made Ben mad."

"Is Ben…um, what's Ben like?" Max asked curiously.

"Are you asking if h-he's like me?" Alec asked in amusement.

"No, I mean…I just…he was quiet when we were younger and when you're awake, you talk a lot," Max finally managed to say. "And you can be really annoying when you want to be, which is pretty much all the time."

"N-no, he's still quiet," Alec said with a small smirk. "He's f-funny though, when you can g-get him to talk. He doesn't think he's f-funny, but he is. But he's the b-best brother I could've ever asked for. I don't d-deserve him, but I don't have a d-doubt in my m-mind that he's doing everything he can to get me b-back out of this place. Zack too, even though we d-didn't get along so great at f-first, but he's like a b-brother to me too."

Max grabbed his hand and gave him a soft smile, "We'll get out of here again. I know we will."

He gave her hand a gentle squeeze and nodded, "B-but first, I'm g-gonna take a nap."

Max laughed and shook her head in amusement, "Alright, I'll let you sleep."

"F-finally," Alec breathed. He slowly and painfully moved so he could lay on the cot again, and then said, "Wake m-me up when they come b-back, ok?" He asked her that every time he fell asleep, and so far, she'd always gotten him to wake up before they came in to get him. He didn't know why they were only torturing him and not her, but he was glad they weren't torturing her. They wanted her for something, he just couldn't figure out what it was. It probably wasn't anything good, just like putting them in the same cell together couldn't be good either, but he'd take the company while he could.

"Ok Alec," Max whispered.

* * *

 _More soon_


	10. Chapter 10

_"Alec, just relax…" Ben said._

 _"Everyone is staring at us," Alec hissed. "Why is everyone staring at us?"_

 _"Because we're in a small town and no one knows us," Ben said._

 _"I feel weird walking around like this…" Alec muttered._

 _"You ok? I tried to go slow down that stupid road, but I know it sucks," Ben said. "But Caleb said to come see him, and I really think you should get checked up one more time."_

 _He rolled his eyes even though he felt like shit. Ben had gone to the clinic on Monday by himself since he had been too tired to even get up. This was the first time he'd been out of the cabin since he'd had a seizure and been stuck at Caleb's houseboat for five days. The ride in the truck down the mountain road still hurt him, but Ben insisted that he needed to be checked on again and they needed supplies. They were walking around this stupid small town and everyone was looking at them._

 _"Why couldn't we just go to Caleb's place?" Alec whispered. "I don't like all these people looking at us."_

 _"Would you really stay at Caleb's without me?" Ben challenged._

 _"No…"_

 _"That's why you have to walk around town with me," Ben said._

 _"This is still stupid," Alec grumbled._

 _"It won't take very long to get the supplies, and then we'll head over to Caleb's," Ben said._

 _He trailed behind Ben and glared at anyone who stared at them for too long. He felt too exposed here. He wasn't undercover, he didn't have any orders, he didn't know what he was supposed to do here. He had to rely on Ben to get them food and whatever else they needed to survive. So far, he'd decided he liked having a brother, he liked their cabin, he liked Caleb, but he didn't like not knowing what to do._

 _"C'mon, let's get over to Caleb's place," Ben said after they finally checked out. He was so ready for a nap, but he needed to humor Ben to make sure he wasn't going to go try to sacrifice someone. Ben was already doing better, but he didn't want to mess that up. "He told me that he'd make us dinner and you could sleep on the sofa for tonight. I figured the ride down would wear you out, so I told him that we'd stay."_

 _He rolled his eyes again but decided not to argue with his brother. He was actually relieved that he wasn't going to have to get back in the truck and somehow survive the ride back._

 _"Hey boys," Caleb said with a warm smile when they made it over to his houseboat. "Come on in. I made some soup and cornbread for dinner. Alec, you just take a load off, I'll bring you a bowl of soup after I check your bullet wound."_

 _"We were just here," Alec grumbled. "And you said I was healing just fine, so I don't know why I need a check-up…"_

 _"You need a check-up because you're injured, and I need to make sure you're still healing," Caleb easily replied. "And you missed working at the clinic, so that means you're still hurting. C'mon, sit down. The sooner you cooperate, the sooner this will be over."_

 _He slowly sat down, careful to keep the grimace from his face since Ben was watching his every move and would freak out if he let him know that he hurt worse now because of their trip down here. He went ahead and lay back against the cushions and let Caleb check his side._

 _"Alec was freaking out because everyone was looking at us," Ben said as Caleb carefully pulled the gauze from his side._

 _He glared at his brother, but Caleb chuckled and nodded, "You boys are the talk of the town."_

 _"What? Why?" Alec asked, trying to sit up, but Caleb pushed on his shoulder to keep him down._

 _"Because you're new," Caleb said. "A town this size knows everyone, so you two just showing up out of nowhere throws up a lot of questions."_

 _"Like what?" Ben asked curiously._

 _"Where you two are from, who you are, what brought you to town," Caleb said. "And I've had more than one question if you two have girlfriends yet." He scowled and looked at his brother, who just shrugged back. "Don't worry, everyone will settle down in a few months," Caleb said._

 _"Months?" Alec asked._

 _Caleb laughed, "Alec, it's been a long time since anything's happened around here, so unless someone else shows up out of nowhere, then you two will be the talk for a while."_

 _"Great…" Alec muttered._

 _"It's not a big deal," Ben said._

 _"Says you," Alec said._

 _"Looks like you are starting to get better," Caleb said before Ben could say anything. "But a good night's sleep and some soup will help."_

 _"Your stupid sofa is better than that mountain road, so I'm not even gonna argue about staying here," Alec said. He saw Caleb and Ben both smile, but he just snuggled down on the sofa and decided he'd eat the soup later because right now he could use a nap._

* * *

"Oh my God…Alec…" Max breathed. She blurred forward and caught him before he could hit the floor, but he was just a dead weight in her arms. The guards left before she could ask them for anything, locking them back in their cell. She carefully lowered him to the ground, deciding that she should check him over before she got him back on the cot.

"Alec, can you hear me?" Max asked, gently tapping his cheek. The only response she got was the sound of his labored breathing, and it broke her heart to hear him in so much pain. They didn't always get along great, in fact they hardly ever got along, but he was all she had in this place and she hated that they kept taking him out of here and hurting him more. And she wanted Zack and Ben to hurry up and get them out of here. She didn't know how much more Alec could take, and she really didn't want him to die. They'd been locked together for at least a month, they were friends now and she knew she wouldn't be able to handle it if he died.

Alec annoyed the crap out of her when he was awake, but the world would be a little darker if he didn't make it. He always managed to make her smile, and she'd even seen some of the guards laughing with him when he was conscious enough to make jokes with them. She knew he hated this place, but he made it just a little brighter when he was able to.

Alec whimpered suddenly, and tears leaked from the corners of his eyes and fell back into his hair. "Alec, I'm right here," Max tried to soothe. She gently brushed his tears away with her thumbs and cupped his cold cheeks to try to get him to focus. "I still have some bandages stashed and some food and water…just tell me what you need, and I'll try, ok? I'll try to help however I can."

"Just…just don't g-go anywhere…" Alec breathed.

"I'm not going anywhere," Max reassured softly. "Do you want me to move you to the cot?"

"No…here's g-good…" Alec whispered.

She carefully lifted his head slightly and slid her leg under, so he could use her as a pillow. She very gently ran her fingers through his hair and asked, "Is anything broken? Anything bleeding?"

"I-I don't know…" Alec replied miserably. "Everything h-hurts…"

"Ok, just rest," Max soothed.

Alec chuckled, but immediately winced in pain, but still asked, "You m-mean…no 20 questions this t-time?"

"Do you want to go through 20 questions or do you want to sleep?" Max teased.

"T-too many m-memories…" Alec mumbled.

"Ok, so, what do you want to talk about?" Max asked, surprised that Alec actually wanted to talk.

"D-don't you have a list of questions already r-ready for me?" Alec asked tiredly.

"Fine. What was your favorite part about being out?" Max asked.

"Max…" Alec groaned.

"Hey, you wanted me to ask a question, so I did," Max said.

"I th-thought it was g-going to be about escaping again…n-not something p-personal," Alec mumbled.

"You gonna answer it or not?" Max challenged.

"The p-porch of the cabin," Alec finally said. "We got a couple r-rocking chairs, y'know like old p-people or whatever, and we'd just sit out th-there for hours. The air was so f-fresh and the woods…it was like M-manticore never existed up there…and there was this s-stream that you could b-barely see through the trees, but when the sun h-hit it just right…it just sp-sparkled. It sounds stupid, but it was special up there. I sp-spent hours sitting on that p-porch…"

"I used to sit on top of the Space Needle," Max said, focusing on the feeling of Alec's soft hair against her fingers. "I could see everything up there, and at night…the city was beautiful. I could almost forget about the Pulse and how everything was destroyed, and I forgot about Manticore when I was up there."

Alec tipped his head back and looked up at her with his bright green eyes, which were just a little dulled from pain and were still bloodshot, and said, "I'll show you my p-porch if you'll sh-show me your Space N-needle when we g-get out of here."

"That sounds vaguely dirty, but deal," Max said with a laugh.

Alec settled on her leg again and closed his eyes. "I like you M-max," Alec whispered. "I'm glad they threw us in h-here together…"

"I like you too, Alec," Max said, and it was true. They really were friends now, even if they didn't always get along. "I wish they'd stop torturing you…"

"Mmmm…m-me too," Alec hummed.

Alec's breathing slowed, and it still sounded painful, but he looked a little more peaceful. She played with his hair and watched his chest rise and fall. She hated that there was nothing she could do to really help him, and she couldn't stop them from torturing him either. She tucked her hair behind her ear, and then leaned forward and barely brushed her lips against his forehead.

"Don't go anywhere," she whispered. She didn't want to lose him, she couldn't. He was her only friend here, and she knew him now. He had to stay alive; he couldn't leave her alone in this place.

"'M not g-goin' anywhere, M-maxie…" Alec slurred. "W-wake me up when th-they c-come back, ok?"

"You know I will," Max said with a small smile.

* * *

He took long, depressing walks every day now since they weren't any closer to getting his brother back. He only wanted to get Alec back, but Zack was shooting down all of his ideas. He knew he was probably going to die trying to get Alec out of Manticore, but he didn't care. Alec was trapped there, and he had to at least try to get him back out.

"Thought I'd find you out here," Zack said. "Especially since it's raining…"

"I don't want to talk," Ben muttered. "Unless it's about getting Alec back out of Manticore."

"We're moving closer," Zack said. He looked up in surprise since this actually sounded like they were going to do something. "We need to see the patrols and the security before we do anything."

"But we are doing something," Ben stated.

"Yeah…" Zack replied.

He didn't like the look on Zack's face, so he asked, "Why now?"

"It's been over a month, Ben, if he hasn't been brainwashed then he's in bad shape…I don't know if he's even still alive…" Zack said. "If we don't do something now, then there will be no reason to go at all."

"You think he's dead?" Ben asked, feeling like he couldn't breathe.

"No…not yet," Zack said. "But I still think this is a suicide mission."

"I want him out of there," Ben stated. "I don't care that it's just you, me, and Logan. We have to get him out even if we die trying. He went back there because we wanted Max out, the least we could do is try to get him back out."

"I promise we're gonna try," Zack said. "We're gonna pack up everything in Logan's car, and then we'll find a good place to stake out."

"I just want my little brother back," Ben said.

"I want him back too," Zack said.

* * *

"This is w-weird…" Alec muttered. "It's been four d-days and no torture…"

"Alec, I doubt they want to kill you," Max said, "They know transgenics can only take so much before they can't take anymore. You're too expensive to just kill off."

"You th-think I'm valuable," Alec teased with a small smirk. Max rolled her eyes at him, so he turned it up a little more and said, "Admit it M-maxie, I mean s-something to you."

Max really looked at him for a minute before she said seriously, "You do mean something to me, Alec." His breath caught in his chest; he hadn't expected Max to give him a real answer, and he definitely hadn't expected that answer to be what she'd said. He meant something to Ben and Zack, he knew that, but he kind of thought that was a fluke. He didn't really think he'd ever mean anything to anyone else. Max frowned and asked, "Did you really think you didn't mean something to me?"

"I, uh…I…"

"Alec, you're able to make me smile in a place I've rarely smiled before," Max said. "And you didn't just make me smile once…you make me smile every day even though you're in an incredible amount of pain. You mean a lot to me."

He swallowed hard and quickly changed the subject, "But, um, four d-days with no torture is still p-pretty weird, right?"

Max gave him a small smile, and then slowly stood up from where she'd been sitting on the floor and sat next to him on the cot instead. "Like I said, they don't want to kill you," Max said. "You needed a break and they gave you one."

"Yeah…too b-bad it won't last," Alec said.

"Did you think it was going to take this long for them to come back?" Max asked.

"No…" Alec muttered. "No, I thought they'd b-be here by now…"

"Well, they need to come up with a good plan that will get both of us out with as few injuries as possible," Max said. "And they'll have to assume we're hurt, so they'll need to come up with plan A-Z to cover every scenario they can think of, so that'll take some time."

"And Zack n-never does anything unless he has everything f-figured out," Alec said.

"They're going to come back for us," Max said. "They're not going to leave us here."

"Yeah…but if I'd listened t-to you, maybe we'd already b-be out by now," Alec mumbled.

"Or we'd both be dead," Max said. "Or only one of us would be out and they other would wish they were dead…"

"I wonder if we're g-gonna move to Seattle once we g-get out…" Alec said. "I can't see B-ben wanting to move back to the cabin n-now that he knows you're around…"

"I'd like it if you'd move to Seattle," Max said.

"And if Zack sticks around, then you g-guys would p-practically have a unit again," Alec said. He felt a small pang of regret that he wasn't part of their little family. He and Ben were brothers, but he wasn't part of Ben's other family. He'd be on the outskirts again, but at least he'd be out of Manticore.

"Alec, you're part of our unit now too," Max said, grabbing his hand.

"Y'know, I d-don't wanna make things m-more complicated or whatever, b-but there are a lot of other transgenics in here that m-might want out too…" Alec said. "When you g-guys left…it got a lot worse for the twins. I g-got tortured just because I shared DNA with Ben."

"Alec, I-"

"Me and B-ben talked about it," Alec cut off. "We're g-good, I understand, but I d-don't want to do that if we actually d-do manage to escape…"

"You want to let everyone out?" Max asked, looking slightly awed.

"This p-place sucks," Alec said. "I know it, you know, and I know a l-lot of other transgenics who think so too. And I can't leave th-them in here while we get to be f-free…"

He grunted in pain when Max suddenly slammed into him, throwing her arms around his neck, hugging him close. He relaxed after a second and leaned into her embrace, drawing comfort from the contact. Every time Max touched him, it made him feel just a tiny bit better. She didn't touch him a lot, but when she did, he could almost forget about the pain.

"That's incredible," Max whispered. "What-"

She stopped when the door suddenly opened and two guards came in and an older woman who he thought was the director, but he didn't know for sure. Max stiffened against him and dropped her hand into his, giving him a good squeeze before she turned slightly in his arms.

"452…looks like you and 494 are getting along nicely," the woman said.

"What do you want?" Max snapped.

"Grab him," the woman ordered.

Max held onto him tighter, but he whispered so only she could hear, "Max you g-gotta let me go…I'll be alright…"

She let him go just as the guards grabbed him and threw him to the ground. He wanted to fight back, but four days without being tortured wasn't enough to get him to even start healing. He nearly passed out when he hit the ground, but then he was being hauled to his feet again and slammed against the wall. He tried to gasp in a breath, but his lungs weren't working.

One of the guards put their forearm against his throat and pressed to cut off his airway completely. He struggled to break free, but the other guard punched his already broken ribs, making tears stream down his cheeks.

"Stop!" he heard Max yell. She sounded like she was really far away even though he knew she was just a few feet away from him. "Stop it! You're killing him!"

"It's up to you to stop this, 452," the woman said.

"My name is Max," Max growled.

"Shoot him or stab him, I don't care which," the woman ordered.

His vision blacked out as a searing pain tore through his side. He figured it wasn't a gunshot since he didn't hear anything, but he couldn't be sure since he was kind of out of it right now.

"Let him breathe," the woman said.

He coughed and gasped when he was suddenly released, and then collapsed and threw up, still trying to force air into his lungs. He heard someone struggling, but he couldn't get enough air yet to focus on what was going on around him.

"You can end this, 452," the woman said. "Say it or he's either going to have a collapsed lung or a bullet to the kneecap…up to you."

He forced his eyes open and found Max across the room. Tears were streaming down her cheeks too, and she looked at him with panic.

"Alright, kneecap him," the woman said impatiently.

Max immediately sprang into action, but one of the guards was ready for her and worked at keeping her back. The other guard walked over to him and crouched down beside him. He recognized the guard, and the man looked at him with guilt in his eyes. He joked around with this guy when he could, and the guard always gave them extra food and water when he could.

The guard pressed his gun against his knee and slowly squeezed the trigger. He clenched his jaw, trying to prepare himself for the pain, but he knew he wouldn't be ready for this.

"My name's 452!" Max yelled, making the guard jump as he pulled the trigger. The bullet that would make it nearly impossible for him to walk normally again went in above his knee, through skin and muscle instead of bone. It still hurt like Hell, but it wouldn't ruin everything. Max managed to push her guard off of her, and quickly ran over to him. She looked at him with relief when she saw that he wasn't permanently handicapped.

They both turned their attention to the woman who slowly started to clap and was looking at both of them with smug satisfaction. "Very good 452," she said. "Maybe next time you'll cooperate before he starts bleeding…"

The woman nodded to the two guards, and the three of them left.

"Alec, I'm so sorry," Max whispered.

"Help m-me up…" Alec breathed. His voice was rough and he could barely get a good breath, but it could've been worse. "I'm t-too close to m-my own vomit…"

Max quickly got him to his feet, ignoring his groan of pain, and brought him back over to the cot. "Bullet went straight through, so, um, that's good," Max said, refusing to meet his gaze. "But we don't have any way to do stitches, so that's going to be a problem…"

"M-max…I'm alright…" Alec whispered.

"I should've said it sooner," Max said. "I just…"

"I g-get it," Alec said. "You have a n-name…you're not a n-number…"

"But I know that, and I could've saved you some pain instead of refusing to just say it," Max said.

"Max…"

"I'm just going to try to stop the bleeding," Max said, ignoring him.

"M-max, this is b-bad," Alec said, trying to get Max to look at him.

"No, I'm going to stop the bleeding, and then we'll figure something else out," Max said.

"Max…I know why they p-put us together," Alec said.

"Why?" Max asked.

"We care about each other…" Alec said. "And n-now they can use us against each other…"

Max looked up at him again, and he knew he was right. "So…what do we do now?" Max asked softly.

"We b-better just hope Ben and Zack g-get here soon…" Alec said.

* * *

 _"Here, Caleb sent these with me," Ben said, passing an ice pack over to his idiotic brother before he handed him painkillers. Alec was sitting in his chair on the porch, refusing to look at him since he was mad at him. He sat down in his chair and handed Alec the glass of water once he reached for it. "I told you starting fights was a bad idea, and Caleb told you the same thing."_

 _"You were fighting too," Alec grumbled._

 _"I was fighting because someone had to have your back," Ben said. "You can't fight someone just because you don't like what they say."_

 _"Y'know, there were a lot of rules at Manticore, but at least they made sense," Alec muttered. "And no one could say asshole remarks at Manticore because we weren't allowed to talk."_

 _He chuckled even though he'd freaked out when he saw Alec punch the guy across the face at the bar. "I don't think you should punch every asshole you run into," Ben said. "Especially since they seem to have a lot of friends that think it's fun to gang up on you."_

 _"I could've taken them all out if you hadn't knocked me out," Alec said._

 _"I knocked you out since it would be bad if you killed them," Ben said. "We'd have to move from our cabin, and you convinced me killing is bad."_

 _"Sacrificing is bad," Alec said, pointing at him. "And I wasn't gonna kill them…just break a few bones to teach them a lesson."_

 _"Still not a great idea," Ben said with a smile._

 _"This freedom thing comes with a lot of rules," Alec grumbled, but he could tell his brother was trying to hide a smile._

 _"I'm sorry for knocking you out," Ben said._

 _"Just don't do it again," Alec said. "The first one can look like an accident, but if it happens again we're gonna look like we have no idea what we're doing."_

 _"Alright, I won't knock you out again," Ben said. "You want some dinner? Caleb sent us more leftovers."_

 _"I'm not going inside," Alec said. "It's nice out here and you'll have to knock me out again to get me inside and you already said you wouldn't knock me out again."_

 _"I'll bring it out here," Ben said in amusement._

 _"Even though you knocked me out, you're still an awesome brother," Alec said. He was thankful his brother couldn't see him because he couldn't hide his smile now. "But you should know I have nothing to base your brother status on since I've only just recently gotten a brother," Alec said._

 _He rolled his eyes, but he messed up Alec's hair on his way inside. Even though he had to watch Alec since he didn't really know how to act outside of Manticore yet, he wouldn't trade his brother for the world._


	11. Chapter 11

_Sorry for the long wait, hope you all like it!_

* * *

Alec was right; they'd put them together so they would care about each other, and then they could use him against her. So far, they'd used him against her three times, including the first time. She couldn't help resisting when they told her to do something, but then they'd hurt Alec, and she'd be forced to agree to whatever they wanted her to do.

She very gently cleaned up his back while he was still unconscious. They'd whipped him this last time; she could still hear his tortured, cut-off cries of pain. He'd tried so hard to stay quiet, but each mark was worse than the last until he was practically unconscious, with only the restraints keeping him up. They'd continued to hurt him even after she'd done what they'd wanted.

At least they'd left some supplies to clean him up this time.

"Hey…" Alec breathed suddenly, his voice weak and broken.

"Hey," Max said with a small smile. Her smile didn't reach her eyes, but she knew it made Alec feel better if she at least tried to pretend that everything was alright.

"How bad?" Alec asked. He didn't even try to lift his head, he just laid there, his tired green eyes locked with hers.

"They left some supplies this time," Max said instead of answering his question. "So, I get to at least wrap your wounds to try to prevent infection."

"Max…"

"You've still got a pretty high fever," Max said, ignoring him. "But they actually left some antibiotics and some painkillers, so they still don't want you to die."

"Max," Alec said again, begging this time.

"Alec, I won't do it," Max said. "I know it hurts, but I'm not going to kill you."

"They're just g-going to keep d-doing this," Alec said miserably.

"I know, but Ben and Zack are going to come. They're going to get us out of here and I know they're going to want you to still be alive when they get here," Max said. She grabbed his hand and very gently kissed his bruised and bloody knuckles. He'd asked her to kill him multiple times now, but he still fought back every time they came for him. "I'm not giving up, Alec, and I don't want you to give up either," she whispered.

He turned his face away from her, but she wasn't going to let him leave her. The cot definitely wasn't big enough for both of them to lay on, but she didn't care. Alec needed her, he needed the contact, and she was going to give it to him. She slid onto the cot next to him, careful not to jostle him too much, but she made sure there was as much skin-to-skin contact that they could get.

He moved so she could be more on the cot, and then he laid slightly on top of her, wrapping his arms around her and resting his head on her stomach. She gently played with his hair and used the wet cloth to try to soothe his tortured skin.

"This is m-makin' me feel b-better…" Alec slurred.

"Better not get handsy," Max warned.

"Mmmm…we'll see…" Alec said.

Alec fell asleep again after a few minutes, but she continued to play with his hair. He was burning up against her, but she couldn't do anything else for him. He needed rest and actual medicine, not just a quick patch job. She wished she could do more for him. She told him he was going to get sick because of the cold, and unfortunately she was right. His fever was way too high, but he claimed he was still freezing.

She jumped a little when their cell suddenly shook. "Alec…did you feel that?" She whispered. She barely shook his shoulder and tried to get out from under him, but he was heavier than he looked and she didn't want to hurt him. "Alec…wake up. Something's going on," Max said. Their cell shook again, and this time she managed to slide out from under Alec and walked over to the door. There was a small window she could look out of, but all she saw was the guard standing outside their door.

"Wha's g-goin' on?" Alec slurred.

"Something's happening," Max said, running back over to him.

"We n-need out…Th-that's gotta be the signal," Alec breathed.

"Any ideas?" She asked. She scanned the small area, but the only way out was the door. They didn't have enough time to try to dig their way out. They might be able to fight their way out, but they'd need to get the door open first.

"We just n-need to get the d-door open, right?" Alec asked.

"Yeah…"

"Alright…g-get ready to p-panic…" Alec muttered.

She frowned in confusion for just a second, but then he started seizing and her eyes widened in panic. She ran to the door and pounded on it to try to get the guard's attention. He finally looked over and moved closer, so she yelled, "He's seizing! I need help!"

Thankfully, the guard didn't waste any more time and quickly unlocked the door. She kept her hands up and stepped aside since the guard had one of the shocking sticks to knock her out if he needed to. But as long as she cooperated and stayed out of the way, he might actually help Alec.

The guard ran over to Alec's shaking form, getting a syringe out of his belt as he went. The guard leaned over Alec, but then snapped back and collapsed to the ground.

"Got the d-door open…" Alec breathed.

"C'mon, we need to go, so you need to get up," Max said, running over to help him up.

"N-need a shirt," Alec said. "P-pretty obvious that a p-prisoner escaped if they s-see me walking around l-like this…"

She didn't argue with him even though she knew it would hurt him to put a shirt on again. She helped him sit up and get his shirt back on, but the shirt was instantly stained with his blood and he looked like he was about to pass out.

"Max…grab h-his weapons," Alec breathed.

"I don't do guns," Max said.

"B-but I do and s-so do the guards," Alec said. "You g-gotta help me w-walk anyway, so I'll c-cover us…"

"Fine…" She grabbed the guard's gun and quickly handed it to him. He took the gun and expertly checked the clip before he started to push himself up. He didn't get far; the tiny amount of color he'd gained back completely disappeared and he tipped over, heading for the ground. She caught him and prayed that he wouldn't be out for long. He was obviously not up for an escape, but he needed to at least be conscious so maybe they could make it out of their cell. "Alec, come on, I know it hurts, but this is our only chance," Max whispered.

"I c-can't, Maxie," Alec breathed.

"You have to," Max growled. "Now, get on your feet, soldier." It was mean, but she had to get Alec moving. She wasn't going to leave him behind. He was coming with her whether he liked it or not.

"Max…"

"I'm not leaving without you," Max said. "Either you get up or we're both staying right here. We'll die here, but we'll die together because I'm not leaving you." He looked up at her with his pain filled green eyes and barely nodded back. "Alright, we can do this. Just lean on me and we'll get out of here, ok?"

"Ok Max," Alec whispered.

* * *

It was pure agony to get up, even with Max's help, but he had to get up. Max had made it pretty clear that she wasn't going to just leave him here, so he needed to get up, so she could get out. He knew this was their big chance, but he just didn't have anything else left.

"Alec, stay with me," Max said, tapping his cheek to try to get him to focus. He must have stumbled again and almost fallen over… "We've still got a ways to go," Max said. The alarms were sounding, but they seemed to go in and out depending on how conscious he was. They'd only come across a few guards, but they'd been able to hide from them instead of fighting them. He only had about one fight in him, so they couldn't waste it.

"Max…f-find the security room," Alec breathed. "G-Gotta find where Ben and Zack are…and I'm…I'm slowing you d-down…"

"Alec, we're in this together, remember?" Max said gently. "I'm not leaving you."

"This is d-different…" Alec said. "I-I'll watch your b-back from the cameras and you f-find them."

"Alec-"

"I c-can't walk, M-max," Alec cut off. "My leg is k-killing me where they shot m-me and I c-can only stay conscious for a couple m-minutes at a time because of the b-blood loss. I need to s-sit down."

"Ok Alec," Max soothed. "We've gotta be getting close to the control room…Just stay with me a little bit longer, ok?"

"It h-hurts," Alec whispered. "Everything hurts…"

"I know, Alec, but just think how good it's going to be when we get out of here," Max said. "I'll even let you and Ben stay with me in my apartment in Seattle."

"Mmmm I like the s-sound of that," Alec mumbled. "Bet you have a nice b-big bed we can share…"

"I do have a nice bed, but not so sure we're going to be sharing," Max said in amusement.

"Oh c'mon M-maxie," Alec said. "We shared a cot, s-so a bed has to be loads b-better."

"We have to get out of here before we can even think about sleeping in a real bed," Max said. He stumbled again and groaned when Max caught him. "Favorite food," Max said to help distract him. "We haven't talked about our favorite foods yet."

"Candy," Alec breathed. "I-I love candy…hate b-beans…"

Max laughed and was just about to tell him her favorite food when she stopped suddenly. He tried to stay conscious since he might need to shoot a guard or something, but the hallway was swaying so badly that he thought he might throw up before he passed out. "It's ok, Alec," Max whispered. "I think we found the control room. We just need to clear it out, and then you can sit down…"

"H-how many?" Alec asked.

"I don't know," Max said. "There was just one guard that walked by, but I could only see a little bit into the other room."

"Max…we g-gotta get in there…I d-don't know how m-much longer I can stay standing…" Alec slurred. He really didn't know how much longer he could stay conscious, but he wasn't going to tell Max that. She probably already knew how close he was to passing out, and it was probably better to just ignore that fact.

"Alright, I'm going to just set you down," Max said. "I'll go in and make sure the area is clear before I come back for you, ok?"

He nodded since he was just thankful he didn't have to stay standing anymore. Normally he would be the one to go in there and clear the room himself, but now he could barely walk even with help, there was no way he could really fight anyone right now. He just wanted this to be over, but Max had refused to take him out, just like she'd refused to leave him in their cell.

"Ok, it's clear," Max said, running back to him. She hauled him to his feet, but he must have passed out because the next thing he knew, they were in the control room. "Hey, are you with me again?" Max asked, giving him a small smile. He was sitting in a chair now and Max was crouched in front of him, and he could see monitors all around showing different hallways, cells, and other parts of the compound. He nodded just a little bit, so Max put something in his hand. "It's a radio so you can talk to me, ok?" Max said. "I have one too, so you can tell me where to go and if any guards are coming. I'll stay pretty close just in case there's trouble here."

"Ok…" he breathed.

"But you have to stay conscious, ok? Otherwise I won't know where the guards are," Max said.

"Ok," he said a little stronger this time.

"I already set our frequencies to the same thing, but here's another radio so you can listen in on what the guards are saying," Max said, handing him another radio. "Are you going to be ok here? If not, we can both stay here, I'll stay with you and Ben and Zack can just come to us."

"We g-gotta let everyone else out," Alec whispered.

"I know," Max said. "And we will, but it might not be a good idea to split up. Maybe we should both just stay here…"

"M-max, go," Alec said. "The s-sooner you find Ben and Zack, and let everyone else out, the s-sooner we can get out of here."

Max thought about it for a second before she finally nodded, "But you have to talk to me. You have to stay conscious the whole time, ok? I need to know you're ok, so you have to talk to me."

"Ok," Alec whispered.

Max gave him a quick kiss on the lips, which shocked him back into full awareness, before she ran out of the room. He liked Max, a lot, but he thought he annoyed her more than anything. And then once he started getting worse, then she started to like him, but he thought that was more like a friend. She kissed his knuckles sometimes, but that could just be because they were friends and she didn't like seeing him in pain.

He shook himself out of those thoughts and focused on where Max was on the cameras. He needed to pay attention and talk to her, or else she would decide that he'd passed out and would come back, which would make their escape take that much longer.

"Alec, you ok?" Max asked, right on que.

"I'm f-fine, Max," Alec said with a small smile.

He led her through the halls, telling her to stop when there were too many guards and telling her which turns would get her through the compound the fastest. He found Ben and Zack on one of the cameras, fighting their way through the compound, but steadily gaining ground. He tried to get Max to them faster, but he was trying to keep her away from the fighting since he didn't want her to get hurt. But he was so happy to see his brothers again. He was starting to think they weren't coming, or that they were coming, but he wasn't going to last long enough to see them again. But Ben and Zack did come back for him.

"Alec, I found them," Max finally said, running over and hugging Zack on one of the screens.

"Send Ben," Alec breathed.

"Alec?"

"I…I'm runnin' outta gas…" Alec said. "A-Adrenaline rush is almost gone…" And he's just wanted to make sure Max, Zack, and Ben were going to be ok. Max had found them, so she was safe, they could leave. He just had to make it until Ben could find him to say goodbye to his brother.

He saw Ben take off without getting the radio from Max, so he couldn't even tell his brother where to go. He blinked sluggishly as he watched Ben run through the halls. He could hear Max trying to talk to him from her radio, but he couldn't tell what she was saying. He could tell that Max's voice turned into Zack's voice, so at least he was still aware enough to notice that, but he couldn't hold on much longer.

But he'd done what he'd wanted. Max was safe now and she could get everyone else out. He'd finished the mission, so he wasn't needed anymore. Their mission had actually worked. He hadn't thought it would work, but it did.

"Alec? Alec, can you hear me?" Zack asked through the radio. "Alec, c'mon, you gotta answer me. Ben's on his way, but talk to me, so I know you're still ok."

He couldn't answer his brother. His hand felt too heavy to lift, so the radio was useless. He couldn't answer Zack to tell him goodbye.

"Alec?!" Ben yelled suddenly. His brother shook him hard, making him cry out in pain. "Alec, look at me," Ben said. "Dammit, open your eyes."

He finally managed to get his eyes open a crack to see Ben crouched down in front of him. "Ow…" he breathed. Ben threw his arms around him, crushing him in a hug, which just hurt worse. "Ow, B-ben…that hurts…"

"I'm sorry," Ben whispered, but he still didn't release him. He did pull back a little, so at least he could breathe again, and looked him over. "I'm so sorry. We tried to get here sooner, but you know how Zack is…Are you ok? Sorry, that's a stupid question, of course you're not ok…Shit, Alec, what did they do to you?"

"Th-they weren't as happy to s-see me as I thought th-they'd be," Alec slurred.

"Can you walk?" Ben asked. He shook his head no, so Ben quickly reassured, "It's ok, I can get you out of here. We've gotta move since they're gonna blow this place."

"E-everyone else?" Alec asked. He refused to let this go since he didn't want to be the one leaving people behind this time. He forgave Ben since he didn't know who he was leaving behind or what would happen to the rest of the transgenics, but he couldn't turn a blind eye this time. And if they just left them here, they'd all die.

"Zack and Max are already working on that," Ben said. "Our job is to get out and meet Logan at the rendezvous point."

"Escape c-car?" Alec asked.

"Not so much," Ben said with regret. "We did have one, but it blew up…I have no idea how Logan's gonna do this since he's in the wheelchair, but he said he'd figure something out…"

"B-ben…I'm just g-gonna slow you down…I-I'm too hurt right now…" Alec breathed. He was so thankful he got to see his brother again and that Max was going to get out, but he knew he didn't have enough strength to make it out of here. He didn't want Ben to die trying to save him. "You g-gotta leave me here," Alec whispered. "I'm not g-goin' anywhere fast…I c-can't even w-walk…"

"Alec, I'm not leaving you here," Ben stated. "If you remember, I tried to stop you from coming back here in the first place. There's no way I'm letting you die here, especially since we went through all that work to get you back."

He chuckled, but quickly pressed his hand against his broken ribs, "D-don't make m-me laugh…hurts…"

"Ok, well, let's get out of here and get you patched up," Ben said. "And don't ask me to leave you here again. I won't do it, ok?"

He nodded, "Fine, but y-you'll have to h-help me up…"

"No kidding," Ben said with a small smile. "And you can pass out if you need to. It might be easier on you if you do."

"You n-need someone t-to cover you," Alec whispered.

Ben hugged him again, and even though it hurt, it was also the only contact he'd had with another person except for Max, so it made him feel a lot better. "Alec, you ready?" Ben asked. He blinked a few times to get everything back in focus and nodded against his brother. "Ok, give me a rundown of the worst injuries."

"Um…b-back's torn up, g-gunshot above r-right knee, broken ribs, b-blood loss…I-I don't know what else," Alec said. Max could give his brother a better rundown of his injuries since she'd started taking care of him, but she wasn't here right now.

"Hey, focus for me Alec," Ben said. He must have zoned out again. He kept doing that without realizing it, but now it was important to stay awake and stay focused. "We've got a long way to go before we're free, remember?"

"Thought you said I could p-pass out if I wanted…" Alec muttered.

"Yeah, but you didn't pass out," Ben said. "You just keep zoning out like you're not really here."

"Ben…I'm even m-more messed up than b-before," Alec said with a tired smile.

"That's ok, Alec, I'm sticking with you no matter what," Ben said. "We're brothers and nothing's going to change that. And I'm not leaving you here again, so c'mon, we gotta get moving." He nodded even though he was dreading moving again, but he let Ben help him up. He couldn't hold in his tortured cry of pain the movement brought on, and he sagged against his brother. "C'mon Alec, stay with me. We just gotta get outta here, ok?"

He nodded like a bobblehead, but he managed to stay mostly conscious and staggered along with his brother.

"You still with me?" Ben asked.

"Yeah…"

"Tell me if you need to slow down, ok?" Ben said.

They stumbled along in silence for a while, but he felt like he was starting to lose his grip on consciousness. "B-ben…gotta t-talk about s-something…"

"Ok…um, distraction?" Ben asked.

"Y-yeah…" he said. He needed a distraction, something else to focus on besides his broken body.

"How'd you find Max?" Ben asked.

"Th-they threw us in a cell t-together," Alec said.

"So you got to know her? She's great, right?" Ben said.

He smiled and nodded, "Yeah, she's g-great. W-we're actually p-pretty good friends now…" He didn't mention that he thought she was hot and that she kissed him because Ben thought of her as his sister, and he just didn't think of her like that. "Hey, wait…" Alec said as they started to pass a door.

"Do you need to stop? We can take a break if you want. I think we have enough time…" Ben said. "I should radio Zack…You still have the radio, right?"

"I still h-have it," Alec said. "But that's the I-infirmary…we sh-should grab supplies just in case…"

"That's a good idea," Ben said, carefully getting him inside the room. He flinched at the smell of antiseptic but tried to pass it off as one of his injuries. He thought he'd been getting used to it working for Caleb, but the smell here was a lot stronger than at Caleb's. "I'm gonna set you down and grab some stuff," Ben said. "You try to radio Zack, ok?"

He nodded and forced himself to hold up the radio that Max had given him. "Zack…y-you there? Or M-max…"

"Alec, you ok?" Zack instantly asked.

"Yeah…w-we stopped t-to get some supplies," Alec said. "How m-much time do we h-have left?"

"Maybe 10 minutes, but I wouldn't count on that. You two need to get out right now," Zack said. "We have enough ammo and Logan has enough food for all of us, we're good on supplies."

"Zack…it's m-medical stuff…I won't make it v-very far without it…" Alec admitted.

"Alec, how bad? Do we need to meet up?" Zack asked.

"Try to f-find a car," Alec said with a small smile. "And we'll m-meet at the rendezvous."

"Alec, tell me how bad," Zack said. "I need to know if we need to call Caleb to meet us somewhere."

"B-better call him if you c-can…" Alec breathed. He'd like to see their friend again anyway, and it would make his brothers feel better if someone checked him over. It was definitely not because he hurt all over and felt like he could die at any second.

"Hang in there, Alec, and tell Ben to get you out as fast as he can," Zack said. "You guys need to move fast, ok?"

"Ok…" his voice sounded weak even to him, but hopefully Zack wouldn't call him on it.

"Hey, look at me," Ben said, suddenly in front of him again. "Ok, good," Ben said when he looked over at him. "I grabbed as much as I could, so it's time to go."

"H-help me up?" Alec asked.

Ben wrapped his arm around his back, making him whimper in pain. "I'm so sorry, Alec, but we need to move." He couldn't say anything to reassure his brother that he was ok, because he wasn't ok. "Ok, let's talk about Max again," Ben suggested.

"Sh-she's a pain in th-the ass s-sometimes…" Alec whispered. "B-but she's the only r-reason I'm s-still alive…"

"Remind me to thank-"

Ben didn't get to finish his sentence. There was an explosion that threw them both off their feet; he hit the wall hard, and then dropped down in an unconscious heap.

* * *

"Alec, can you hear me?" Ben asked, gently shaking his brother's shoulder. Alec was still breathing, and he still had a pulse, but he wouldn't wake up. They were breathing in too much smoke and the fire was getting too close to them. He had to get Alec out of there right now.

He ignored the pain in his side and shook Alec's shoulder again. "Alec, c'mon, we didn't go through all of this just to die now…" Ben said.

"Ben?" Alec finally breathed. His eyes weren't open yet, but this was awake enough to move.

"I'm here, Alec," Ben reassured. "We need to go, ok? We can still make it out of here if we go now."

"You're b-bleeding…" Alec mumbled, looking at his side.

"I caught some shrapnel, but I'm ok," Ben said. "I'm still more worried about you. Your breathing sounds worse than it did before…"

"I d-didn't puncture my l-lung…yet…" Alec said. "B-but I'm not f-feeling great…"

"Ok, I'm going to get you up again," Ben said. He tried to ignore his brother's cry of pain as he got him up, but it hurt him to see Alec like this. His brother had done this for him. He went back to Manticore just to get Max out, and now he was nearly dead because of it. "I've been back to the cabin a couple times. I wanted to make sure it was still there when we got you out." It had been hard to go back to the cabin without Alec with him, and he hadn't managed to visit Caleb since their friend would know just by looking at him that Alec was possibly dead, but he did go back. Both trips had been quick, just to make sure it was still there for Alec, but it had hurt to go back.

"Th-thought you'd wanna l-live with Max…" Alec muttered.

"I'll live wherever you want," Ben said. He didn't care if they lived with Max or if they went back to the cabin, he just wanted to make sure Alec was safe. He'd give Alec anything he wanted after this was over. His brother just had to promise to never do this again.

Alec smiled just a little and said, "W-we should live w-with Max for a while…she p-promised to share her b-bed with me…"

"What?!" Ben exclaimed. "What all happened between you two?"

"Ignore everything sh-she says about m-m-me," Alec said. "She's in l-love with m-me even though sh-she won't admit it…"

He rolled his eyes and very gently messed up Alec's hair as they slowly made their way through the wreckage. Alec started coughing because of the smoke, and he was terrified his lung would collapse before they could get out of there.

"I th-think I'm gonna p-pass out…" Alec slurred.

"If you pass out, then I'm gonna carry you," Ben warned. He debated whether he should just carry Alec now, fireman style, or if he should just wait until Alec passed out. But, if he did carry Alec, that was going to cause his brother even more pain, and he wanted to avoid that if he could.

"I'm f-f-freezing…" Alec muttered. "D-did you bring any bl-blankets?"

"I'll get you bundled up as soon as we get out of here, ok? Just try to focus," Ben said. "Did Max really say you two could share a bed?"

Alec gave him a tired smirk, "I've st-still got g-game…"

He chuckled and shook his head in amusement, "There's no way Max was falling for you. You look half dead…"

"Alec!" He smiled when he heard Max's voice, and then she was running over and hugging his brother. Alec relaxed against her, and he could tell that they really did trust each other. "You look terrible," Max teased.

"Oh, c'mon, you kn-know- wait…you're bl-bleeding…" Alec said with a frown. "Wh-why is everyone s-suddenly bl-bleeding?"

"I'm ok," Max reassured. "Bullet went straight through my shoulder, it's not a big deal…"

"Where's Zack?" Ben asked.

"He took a bullet to the leg, so I made him sit down until I could find you guys," Max said. "We need to go…Ben, you ok?"

"I'm fine, it's just some shrapnel," Ben said. "We can patch each other up later."

"Good news though," Max said. "Logan has a car, so we don't have to walk the whole way." Max pulled away from Alec slightly, so she could look at him, and he realized that she was really just talking to his brother now. "You just need to make it a little further, and then you get to sit down. Zack said he was going to call Caleb once we're away from here, so just hold on a little more."

"I'm alright, M-maxie…" Alec slurred.

"Ok," Max said, even though he knew she didn't believe his brother one bit.

He got Alec moving again while Max led the way back to where Zack was sitting. Their older brother looked relieved when they finally came into view, and slowly pushed himself up from the floor. Max quickly ran over to help him up, but he was focused on Alec. Their older brother looked sad, but Alec just shook his head no, so Zack didn't say anything.

"We're getting closer to the rendezvous point," Ben whispered to Alec as they slowly walked behind Zack and Max. "You just gotta make it a little bit further, ok? I know it hurts, but you're doing great."

"I j-just wanna go h-home…" Alec admitted.

"I know, Alec, and we'll be home soon," Ben reassured. "Caleb's gonna take care of you in Seattle, and then we can go wherever you want."

"It…it's getting h-harder to b-breathe…" Alec whispered.

He took on more of Alec's weight and tried to pick up their pace. He couldn't lose his brother, especially now that he just got him back. He needed to take care of his brother and try to make everything better now that he was back. He couldn't let him die now…

"Just hang in there, Alec," Ben said.

* * *

It was a painful blur getting out of Manticore and getting to the getaway car. He was gasping for air by the time Ben hauled him into the car and helped him get situated. He couldn't tell if anyone was talking to him or not because he could hardly hear anything over the roaring in his ears.

But he was so thankful when he finally got a blanket. He was still cold, but he'd been freezing for a long time and just having a tiny bit of relief felt good. Except for the fact that his back felt like it was on fire, his ribs felt like they were shifting, and everything was spinning so badly he thought he was going to throw up.

He groaned when they hit a bad pothole, shaking his entire body. Ben's hands were immediately on his shoulders, making him cry out in pain. Ben's hands disappeared, which somehow made him feel worse.

"Alec, what can I do?" Ben asked miserably.

"M-m-my sh…shoulder's dis-dislocated…" Alec stuttered.

"It's his left shoulder," Max said from the front. "I've popped it back into place like 12 times, but he might need surgery to fix it for real."

He saw Ben and Zack look at each other in concern, and he knew surgery was going to be hard to do even with Caleb helping them. He probably shouldn't mention to them that he probably had some internal bleeding and if he moved anymore, then he was probably going to puncture his lung. He didn't want them to worry more though, so he wouldn't make a big deal about it until it was a real problem.

"Ben…we might have to take him to a hospital," Zack whispered.

"We can't take him yet," Ben argued. "There's gonna be way too many questions that we can't answer and it's too dangerous since we just got them out…"

"We destroyed Manticore," Zack said. "They won't be a problem."

"We don't know that," Ben said.

"Caleb might not be able to-"

"Alec trusts Caleb, I don't want to take him to see anyone else," Ben said.

"How about we just wait and see what Caleb says," Max suggested. She looked back at him and gave him a small, encouraging smile. "You doing ok?"

"I-I'm alright…" Alec breathed.

"Alec, you wanna try to sleep?" Ben asked softly. "It's still gonna be a while until we get back to Seattle…"

"B-ben…" Alec whispered.

"Yeah?"

"We m-might have to g-go to a h-hospital…" Alec slurred.

"Hey, you don't have to worry about anything, ok? We'll take care of everything," Ben reassured. "Just try to sleep, ok?"

"Ok…"

* * *

 _More soon..._


	12. Chapter 12

"Ok, lower him down gently," Caleb said. "We'll get him situated, and then we'll patch you guys up too…"

He very carefully got Alec onto the bed, thankful that he'd finally passed out even though he'd feel better if his brother would talk to him. But he would be in less pain while he was out, so he had to be thankful for that.

"Ben, my name's Sam Carr," a man said, stepping up to him and holding out his hand. He didn't want to trust this guy, but Logan vouched for him, and so did Max, so he couldn't be that bad. Plus, he just wanted his brother to be ok, so he needed to trust him.

"Hi…" Ben muttered, keeping his hand on his brother's shoulder. Caleb cut through the t-shirt Alec was wearing, revealing just some of the abuse his brother had gone through.

"He's burnin' up…" Caleb muttered.

"They…um, they would soak him down with freezing water, and then electrocute him," Max whispered. "He's been cold for a long time…" He didn't want to think about everything his brother had gone through, what he hadn't been able to protect him from. Alec was this beat up because he didn't get him out of there sooner.

"His breathing does not sound good," Dr. Carr said, his stethoscope against Alec's bruised chest. "I suggest we get him on the machine, so at least he could have a little relief."

"No," Ben said at the same time Zack said, "Ok." He glared at his older brother because he didn't get to decide what was going to happen to his brother. _He_ got to decide what happened with Alec's medical care because _he_ was Alec's _real_ brother.

"If putting him on the ventilator gives him some relief, I think we should put him on it. Besides, that's why we called Dr. Carr, so he could put him on the fancy machines if he needed to," Zack said. That was true, Dr. Carr was able to bring the equipment that they needed to do in-home surgery. Caleb had tried to talk them out of in-home surgery since it wouldn't be sterile, but Alec needed to feel safe more than he needed a sterile environment, and they weren't even sure that he needed surgery yet. He just prayed that if Alec did need surgery, then his immune system would be able to fight off any infection he could get from it.

"And I say no," Ben said. "As long as he's able to breathe on his own, I think he should stay off of the machines. And we only called Dr. Carr because we thought Alec needed surgery."

"He does need surgery," Caleb cut in. "We need to get an ultrasound of his abdomen to rule out internal bleeding, but his shoulder definitely needs surgery. His shoulder just won't go back into place."

"Ben, he's struggling for each breath," Dr. Carr said. "And we'd need to intubate him anyway for surgery. We should take him to my office. We'd have more people and more supplies there. I'd be able to keep him under longer and give him warmed fluids…"

"You can put him on the machine, but we aren't going to your office," Ben growled. Alec knew Logan's place, so he knew he'd feel safer here instead of some random doctor's office. He wasn't going to let his brother feel like he was back at Manticore anytime soon.

"Ben-"

"No," Ben cut off. "I'm agreeing to the machine only because he's in pain. I'm not agreeing to take him somewhere he doesn't know."

Caleb walked over to him and gently squeezed his shoulder, "I've got him. How 'bout you and Max or Zack go to another room and try to get cleaned up. I'll come stitch you up in a little bit, ok? But I've got Alec. I'll come get you once we're done."

"I don't want to leave him," Ben whispered.

"But you won't be any help to him if you keep telling us what we can and can't do," Caleb said. "We have to do this to help him."

"Ben, c'mon, we can talk while we wait," Max said. "Alec told me about the cabin and some about what you guys did, but I'm sure he left some things out…"

He looked over to his brother who was unconscious, bleeding on the bed. Caleb gave his shoulder another squeeze, so he finally nodded and said, "As long as Zack can stay close by in case you need him."

"Ok," Caleb agreed. "And if anything happens, I'll come get you."

He nodded again and let Max grab his hand and lead him from the room. He looked back at Alec one more time, wishing he could stay, but knowing that it actually would be better for his brother if he wasn't here for this.

* * *

Ben didn't talk the entire time they waited. She asked him all kinds of questions, but he would just shrug or pretend he didn't hear her. Maybe he really couldn't hear her since he was so worried for Alec. She was freaking out over Alec too, but she was trying to contain her fear to help Ben, but it wasn't working. Ben hadn't even said anything when they'd patched each other up.

It felt really weird that she wasn't with Alec right now. They'd been together almost constantly except when they took Alec out of their cell, so it felt weird to not be with him. But Caleb and Dr. Carr would take care of him, she knew that. And she knew he needed help. She knew every one of his injuries, so she knew exactly how much help he needed. He'd been in a lot of pain for a long time and there had been nothing she could do to help him.

"Ben," Caleb said softly, walking into Logan's bedroom. Ben's head shot up and his eyes were wide with panic. She gave his knee a reassuring squeeze and looked to the older man. "Alec's ok," Caleb said. "He did have some internal bleeding, but he's going to be ok."

"Can I see him?" Ben asked.

Caleb nodded, so Ben jumped up and ran out of the room. She smiled at Caleb, and then quickly followed Ben, so she could see for herself that he was ok. She was glad to see that he didn't have a tube down his throat even if it would help his ribs, but he looked like he was just sleeping with just the help of oxygen, so that was good.

"We'll have to keep an eye on his breathing because of his ribs," Caleb said, walking in behind her. "And we'll have to figure out what's most comfortable for him once he's awake since his back is torn up and his arm is in a sling, but he should make a full recovery after a few weeks of rest."

"I'll come check on him everyday for a while, but Caleb will be here, and if his fever gets worse then he'll call me," Dr. Carr said. "Try to keep him warm and keep him on the antibiotics even though I've been told you don't get infections."

She didn't know if Ben actually heard anything that either man said, so she answered for him, "Thanks, we'll keep an eye on him."

Dr. Carr nodded before he left the room again. She didn't think he was leaving yet, but she didn't really care right now. Ben went over to Alec and sat next to him. He grabbed his limp hand, and then rubbed his hand between his to try to help warm him up.

"Alec, I'm here," Ben whispered. "And you're not in Manticore anymore. You're safe, and we'll go back to the cabin as soon as you're ready."

She frowned when she realized Alec and Ben were really going to leave. She'd been around Alec for so long now, she wasn't sure what she would do without him around. They were friends…and Ben was in her unit, he was her brother. She wanted them both to stay in Seattle.

"He'll be ok," Caleb said, making her jump. She'd forgotten that he was still there. Dr. Carr had left the room, but Caleb had stuck around. "He'll be in a lot of pain for a while, but Ben's good at taking care of him." She looked over at the older man, who smiled, "This isn't the first time I've seen Alec hurt. The kid gets into more trouble than any person has a right to be in, but he always bounces back and Ben's good at keeping him on lockdown," Caleb said, smiling fondly at Alec. "I'm gonna get him another blanket…"

She slowly walked over and sat down on the other side of Alec. Maybe she could talk to him once he woke up to see if she could get him to stick around. She'd have to make sure Ben wasn't around though when she talked to him, so it might be a while.

* * *

It took him a long time to come back to consciousness. His entire body hurt though when he did manage to wake up, and he couldn't move his left arm. If he had more energy, then he would probably freak out that he couldn't move his arm, but for some reason they drugged him, so he was feeling a little hazy. Maybe Max talked the guards into giving him some painkillers, which was great, except he was going to need to be a little more aware if they were going to bust out once he got the signal.

"Alec, can you hear me?" His eyes flew open in shock, but then he saw his brother really was sitting next to him. What the Hell happened? How'd they get out? Where was Max? "Hey, relax," Ben soothed. "Caleb said you'd be pretty confused, so just relax and listen, ok?"

"What happened?" Alec asked. Jeez, his voice sounded awful. He was going to seriously freak his brother out.

"Here, I have some water for you," Ben said, holding a cup for him. He tried to reach for the glass but stopped and looked down at his left arm. His arm was in a sling, which was good since that arm was messed up, but he was still really confused. "Hey, focus, ok?" Ben said. "I'll help you get a drink, and then I'll explain what happened."

He let Ben help him get a few sips of water, but he felt drained once Ben pulled the glass away. "Where's Max?" Alec asked, needing to know she was ok before he fell asleep again.

"She's in the other room with Zack, Logan, and Caleb," Ben said. "We thought you'd feel better with a little privacy."

He was glad that everyone wasn't hanging around, but it felt weird without her around. Every time he woke up after getting tortured, she was there. Maybe that's why he felt so confused. She wasn't there, and he'd been expecting her to always be there.

They were in Logan's apartment…how did they get to Logan's apartment? He closed his eyes briefly as the pain started to spike. His back felt like it was on fire, his head was throbbing, his leg radiated pain, he was still freezing, but his shoulder actually didn't feel all that bad all things considered.

"I'm gonna go get Caleb, ok?" Ben asked. "He can give you another dose of painkillers…"

"No…Ben…I just…" But it was too late. Ben had already gotten up and walked to another room. He didn't want his brother to leave because he had just gotten his brother back. He wanted to know what was going on, but he wanted his brother to be there to tell him. He smiled a tiny bit though when Max appeared in the doorway after a moment, and she smiled when she spotted that he was awake. "Hey Maxie," he breathed in relief.

"Finally," Max said. "You've been sleeping forever."

"Can't help it," Alec said with a smirk.

Max walked over to him and sat on the edge of his bed, gently picking up his right hand. His knuckles were bruised, but someone had cleaned him up, so that was nice. "Are you still cold?" Max asked softly.

"Course I am," Alec said. "But not as cold as I was."

"You sound like crap," Max teased.

"Feel like crap too," Alec muttered.

"Ben's talking to Caleb right now to see if you can have more painkillers," Max said.

"What happened?" Alec asked. "How'd we get here?"

"What's the last thing you remember?" Max asked back.

"They tore up my back pretty good, and then we shared the cot," Alec said with a playful smile. Well, as playful as he could manage right now. He hurt and he was tired, but he wanted to know what happened.

Max rolled her eyes, "Makes sense that's the only thing you remember…"

"Wait…You said we could share your bed too," Alec said, bits and pieces of their escape coming back to him. He hurt just thinking about it. Max gently squeezed his hand, knowing he was in pain. "I'm remembering a little more now, but I'm gonna hold on to that bed thing…"

"Hey, there he is," Caleb said with a smile as he walked into the living room with Ben and Zack close behind him. He felt a little better just seeing his brothers and Caleb again. "Ben says your pain is coming back."

He nodded and admitted, "Everything hurts…"

Caleb sat down next to his hip and put the end of his stethoscope against his chest to listen to him breathe. He was on oxygen, and normally he would complain, but it was actually helping him. He heard a slow but steady beep, and it took him a minute to figure out that it was a heart monitor and it was his heart beat that he heard. He looked over at his twin curiously, so Ben immediately said, "Logan called one of his friends, Dr. Carr. Max said you needed surgery, so we called Caleb and Dr. Carr to come fix you up. Dr. Carr brought a ton of equipment to do the surgery and left a lot of it to help you recover."

He looked down at himself and saw that he had wires going over his shoulder and tubes disappeared under the many blankets that were over him. "There's a lot of tubes…" Alec muttered.

"Don't mess with any of them, ok?" Ben pleaded. "We put them in to help you, and Caleb will take them out when you're ready."

"You did surgery in Logan's apartment?" Alec asked, confused.

"Alec, just rest for now," Caleb said. "We put you on some pretty strong painkillers after the surgery, so you're gonna be confused for a while."

"How come you did surgery?" Alec asked.

Caleb gave him a small smile, "You never did like to cooperate…" Caleb looked over at Ben, who nodded back. "You had internal bleeding, we had to stabilize your ribs, so you wouldn't puncture a lung, and we had to fix up your left shoulder. We put in a chest tube to drain any fluid that builds up. You're on a heart monitor because your pulse was barely there a few times during the surgery. I wanted to keep you on the ventilator, but Ben said you would do better just on oxygen, but if your breathing doesn't improve, then I will sedate you and put the tube back down your throat. You're on IV fluids and antibiotics, and Dr. Carr is going to bring a heated blanket when he checks on you in a few hours. Any other questions?"

"About a million," Alec breathed.

"Ok, what else?" Caleb asked.

"My back?" Alec asked.

"Your back is pretty torn up," Caleb said. "We cleaned the wounds, put a salve on them to help them heal and to numb your back a little, and then wrapped your torso in gauze. We'll have to change the dressings and put on the salve again soon, but I was going to wait until Dr. Carr came back because it's easier with two people."

"Feels like my skin's on fire," Alec said.

"Alec, I'm sorry kiddo, but there's not gonna be a good way for you to sleep for a while," Caleb said. "Your back is hurt, your left shoulder's in a sling, your ribs are broken…The only way you're going to get a lot of sleep is if we drug you up."

"My leg hurts really bad too," Alec said.

"We cleaned out your bullet wound, but there was a lot of damage, so it'll be hard to walk until you heal," Caleb said.

"I'm still really cold…"

"Alec, I really wish we could give you a transfusion, but Max, Ben, and Zack all lost blood with their injuries, and Ben says you can't have normal blood," Caleb said.

He blinked a few times to get rid of the tears, but it was getting too hard to pretend that he was ok. "Um…can…can I just…"

"Can you guys give us a few minutes," Ben said, saving him.

A tear slipped down his cheek, but he didn't look up. He kept his gaze locked on his bruised knuckles to try to keep it together. Max gave his hand a gentle squeeze, but he didn't look at her. He felt like he was about to completely break down, but he wanted to wait until everyone was gone.

"Hey, it's just me and you," Ben whispered, carefully pulling him into a side-hug as he sat next to him. Tears fell down his cheeks, and he just let them since he really didn't want to start sobbing like a baby. Not only would that take away the small shred of dignity he had left, it would also spike his pain to an unbelievable about. "I'm sorry Alec. I'm so sorry. I wanted to come get you as soon as you left, but Zack…"

"Everything hurts," Alec said, tears still falling.

"I know," Ben whispered. Ben suddenly pulled back his covers and carefully laid down next to him. "If this hurts, tell me, ok?" Ben said, getting the covers over him again.

"Don't go anywhere," Alec whispered. He felt warmer already and he needed this. He needed some kind of contact to know for sure that he wasn't in Manticore, and with all the abuse he'd gone through, he just needed to be around someone right now, and he'd really missed his brother.

"I'm not going anywhere, Alec," Ben said.

* * *

He panicked. He woke up when he heard someone's voice that he didn't recognize, so he panicked. He knew he was too injured to escape, but he still tried, which ended with him on the floor, tubes being pulled out of him, machines falling over, his blood leaking on the floor, and everyone freaking out.

"Alec, focus on me," Ben whispered, pressing against his side where the chest tube had been. His shoulder felt messed up again, and now he was embarrassed because he shouldn't have freaked out. "Hey, look at me," Ben said softly. He finally looked up, reassured since Ben was still there. "What happened? Was it a nightmare?" He shook his head no and looked away from Ben again. "C'mon, tell me what's wrong so I can fix it, and then get you back in bed."

"I…I thought…I don't wanna talk about it…" Alec muttered.

"Alec, you have to talk to me," Ben said. "I can't fix it if I don't know what to fix."

"I heard someone's voice…I didn't know who it was," Alec said with his eyes down.

"So you thought you were back," Ben finished. "Dr. Carr just got here. We were just going to let you sleep since right now it's more important that you get some sleep than anything else. We should've just woken you up though…"

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

"Hey, you don't have to be sorry," Ben reassured. "Now we know to wake you up when someone you don't know comes over."

"I…I don't feel good…" Alec said.

"Here, let's get you back in bed," Ben said. His brother looked away from him and nodded to someone he couldn't see. Caleb walked over and helped Ben get him back in bed. "He's bleeding a lot," Ben said to Caleb.

"I have more gauze," Caleb said, taking over putting pressure against his side.

"His back is bleeding again too," Ben said.

"One thing at a time Ben," Caleb whispered. "Alec, can you hear me?" He blinked a few times before he nodded back. He hadn't realized that he had kind of zoned out once they had gotten him on the bed again. "I'm going to need to get Dr. Carr over here to help, ok?"

He looked over at Ben, who nodded back to him. Caleb waved someone else over, and he really wished he could just get better, so none of this would actually be necessary.

"Hi Alec, my name's Dr. Sam Carr," the man said. "I helped your friend Caleb with your surgery."

"Hi…"

"We'll have to stitch up his side," Caleb said. "I don't think we'll get another chest tube in on this side…"

"And we'll have to use his other arm for his new IV," Dr. Carr said.

"Ben, can you set the heart monitor up again and get the electrodes back in place?" Caleb asked.

Ben started to do what Caleb asked, setting up the heart monitor again before he carefully stuck the electrodes to his chest. "I wanna go home…" Ben looked at him in surprise, which meant that he said that out loud instead of just thinking about it.

"Alec, we can't move you until you heal some more," Ben replied softly. "I'll take you home as soon as I can move you, but there's no way you're gonna make it up that mountain road."

"This feels too much like a hospital…" Alec muttered.

"Logan's going out to get a TV for you and Zack's going with him to make sure it's a good one," Ben said. "And you only have to stay on the heart monitor for a few days and the IV and oxygen only until you're a little more stable. It won't be long before you start to heal, and then I'll take you home, ok?"

He just nodded and let Caleb and Dr. Carr work on him. He could tell that Caleb knew he was reaching his limit on everything. It was all just too much at once. He knew Ben would get him out of Manticore again, but he needed time to actually realize he was out. He couldn't just flip a switch and be fine after weeks of being tortured.

"Hey, you wanna hear how we took down Manticore?" Ben asked. He gave his brother a grateful smile for the distraction and slowly nodded. "Ok, so me, Zack, and Logan moved so we were closer to the compound. We had to watch their patrols and come up with a plan, so we didn't die before we found you. Remember that escape car that I said blew up?"

"Yeah…"

"Well, we blew it up," Ben said with a small smile. "We had to make a distraction to get in, and surprisingly, blowing up the car worked. Logan wasn't a big fan of that part of the plan, but he really wanted to get Max out, so his job became finding another car while me and Zack broke into the compound."

He whimpered suddenly as he was turned onto his side. "I'm sorry Alec, but we have to take care of your back again," Caleb said. "We'll be quick, ok?"

He nodded but looked at Ben and silently begged for him to keep talking. "Ok, so, me and Zack got over the fence thanks to the distraction. We had to knock out a few transgenics, so they couldn't shoot us, but then we had to drag them somewhere safe since we were planning on blowing the place up. Zack had the charges with him because the plan was for us to split up once we got inside. Zack was going to find the best places to put the charges while I looked for you. Surprisingly, things mostly went as planned. We got inside just like we wanted to, and then Max showed up."

"I remember that part," Alec breathed. "I w-watched the cameras…"

Ben grabbed his hand and let him squeeze if he wanted to. He did squeeze Ben's hand even though he knew it made him look weak. But it was either squeeze Ben's hand or cry out in pain, and at least if he squeezed Ben's hand, no one but his brother knew he was in pain.

"I heard you on the radio," Ben said. "I took off before I even thought about taking the radio that Max had because I knew you were hurt."

"I was there for the next part," Alec whispered.

"What you don't know is that it took a good ten minutes for you to wake up and answer me," Ben said.

"But then we walked to the Infirmary," Alec said.

"Yes, but while we were doing that, Zack and Max found a way to let everyone else out and started to blow the place up. I don't think we got any of the higher ups, but everyone is out and Manticore is gone," Ben said.

"And we'll go back home once I'm better?" Alec whispered.

"We'll go wherever you want," Ben reassured.

* * *

"Ben…do you want to take a break for a while?" Max asked softly.

He jumped, and then looked at Alec to make sure he was still asleep. He breathed out in relief when he saw that Alec was still sleeping peacefully. "I'm good right here," Ben replied. "He sleeps better if he knows I'm here."

"Ben, you look exhausted," Max said. "I can sit with him while you go get some sleep."

"I slept earlier," Ben said. "And since he hit the floor, I want to make sure he doesn't have any nightmares and somehow end up there again…"

He looked away from Alec when Max suddenly sat down in the chair that Zack and Caleb had been using off and on throughout the day. "I tried to help him while we were there," Max said. "I wanted to do more, but they kept taking him out of the cell to torture him."

"He should've never gone back there," Ben grumbled. He was thankful that he'd gotten his brother back, but he was mad because he should've gotten him out sooner or somehow convinced him not to go in the first place. Alec finding Max hadn't really helped their plan at all; it had just caused Alec more pain than if they had just gone in together instead of apart. And he was mad at Max because she'd been there with Alec, and she hadn't helped him either. He knew it was unreasonable to blame her, but he couldn't help it. He was mad at her for that and he was mad because she'd been there for him when he wasn't. He didn't want to be mad, but he was.

Max reached out and gently held Alec's hand. He felt a surge of overprotectiveness, but he tried to tamp it down a little. He'd been jealous when Alec had started getting along with Zack better, but that had worked out, so maybe he just needed chill out a little. He knew Alec was his real brother, and he knew Alec wouldn't abandon him.

"Ben, I know you guys have a cabin up in the mountains…but I want you guys to stay here, in Seattle," Max said.

"Alec wants to go home," Ben said. "So, we're going home as soon as he's able to travel. Our home isn't in Seattle. If he wants to stay in Seattle, then we'll stay, but it's whatever he wants to do. I'm not making him do anything."

"We're friends," Max whispered. "I can't just let him go after everything we went through."

"It's not up to you," Ben said. "He went back there because me and Zack wanted to try to get you out. He's my brother, my _real_ brother, and he's my best friend. He's the only person who has ever promised to stay with me, and even though he broke that promise, he stayed alive until I could get him back out. He gets whatever he wants after this."

"I just want to talk to him," Max said.

"No, you want to try to convince him to stay," Ben corrected. "But you don't understand how great the cabin is for him. For both of us. We're free out there. Our family is out there." He looked over at the closed door where Caleb was staying. Caleb treated them like they were his sons; that was something he and Alec had never had, but he knew they needed Caleb. And he knew the porch was Alec's favorite place. He didn't want his brother to have to give up his favorite place.

"He told me about the cabin," Max said. "He said the porch was his favorite place. He was going to show it to me when we got out."

"I get that you two are friends, and he might want to stay, but it's still up to him," Ben said.

Max nodded and slowly stood up before she asked, "Do you want any water or anything? I can get it for you."

"I'm ok," Ben replied. "He'll probably wake up again soon anyway."

Max left after a few more seconds, but then Zack was there, sitting in the chair she'd just been in. "What did you say to Max?" Zack asked.

"I just told her the truth," he said. "Alec said he wanted to go home, so that's where we're going once he's healed. Max didn't like the truth, but I didn't lie to her."

"Ben they just went through hell together-"

"I know," Ben snapped. "I know they went through hell. My brother almost died because we wanted Max back. He was willing to die for us. The least I can do is take him back to the cabin because that's what he wants."

"Ben…"

"I'm not changing my mind. If Alec decides he wants to stay, then we'll stay," Ben stated.

"Max went through hell too," Zack said. "She might need Alec to stay."

"You don't care what Alec wants, do you?" Ben accused. "The only reason he went back was because we wanted Max out. He told us it was a suicide mission, but he went anyway. Right now, at this moment, it's all about Alec. I'm going to make sure it's about Alec."

"Ben-"

"Shh," Ben quickly shushed because Alec had just made a sound, and he didn't want his brother to hear them arguing. "Alec?" Ben asked softly, running his hand through Alec's hair to try to comfort him. "Go back to sleep, ok? Everything's ok." Alec settled again, so he looked at Zack and said, "I don't want to argue anymore. He needs rest, so unless you want to sit here and just be here for him, then maybe you should go to another room for a while."

Zack looked at him in shock, but he didn't say anything. He sat back after a moment and just stayed there for Alec's sake. He would protect his brother, even if it was from the rest of his family. Alec was hurt, and he would do whatever it took to get him better.

* * *

 _More soon..._


	13. Chapter 13

He was still groggy when he woke up again. He knew he shouldn't expect to be healed overnight or anything, but he'd hoped he'd be in less pain, or at least a little more aware of what was going on. But he could barely move since every single one of his muscles ached, he had more bruises than he could count, his back still felt like it was on fire…His whole body hurt, and that wasn't going to change for a long time.

"Alec…do you want me to sit on the bed with you again?" Ben asked softly.

He slowly looked over at his brother feeling like he was moving underwater. He managed to nod, even though that hurt too, but he was really cold again and he didn't care if he looked weak right now because he was weak. Ben carefully got into bed next to him, putting his arm around his shoulders and covering them both up with the blankets.

"Do you wanna try to get some more sleep?" Ben asked. He shook his head no, but he didn't actually know how long he could really stay awake. "Check it out," Ben said, "Logan got you a TV. You never get to watch TV, right?"

"Our home still doesn't have electricity," Alec whispered. "No TV for me at home…"

"So, we watch TV now," Ben said. His brother turned on the TV, and he leaned against him a little bit more as he put it on some soap opera.

"Really?" Alec asked in amusement.

"Give it a chance," Ben said. "There aren't a lot of channels to really pick from."

"So…what else did I miss?" Alec asked. He wished his voice could at least have a little bit of strength to it. He knew he wasn't going to fool his brother into thinking he was alright, but if he could at least sound a little better, then he knew that would help.

"Just me yelling at Zack a lot because it was taking too long to get you out," Ben said.

"I should've waited," Alec whispered. "I should've listened to you and waited…"

"Alec, you did what you thought was right," Ben said. "And your plan did work. We all survived." He just nodded and took a few minutes to just rest. Talking that much had worn him out, which was sad because he'd barely said anything, and he liked to talk. "Are you still cold?" Ben asked after a few minutes.

"I'm always cold," Alec breathed.

"I'll get you another blanket," Ben said.

"No," Alec quickly refused before Ben could get up. "I've been cold for a long time…it's not a big deal."

"It is a big deal," Ben said. "I want you to be comfortable…or as comfortable as you can be considering…And I can get you another blanket, which might help."

"I'll be cold no matter what," Alec said. "I'm sick or something. Max said I was gonna get sick, and I did. Another blanket isn't gonna help."

"Alright, but if you think something might help, tell me," Ben said. "I want to help."

"Ok, I will," Alec mumbled.

He fell asleep again, still cold and still in pain, but Ben stayed with him. He wondered where Max and Zack were, but he was too tired to wake up to find out.

He startled awake when someone gently touched his wrist. "Easy Alec, it's just me," Caleb soothed. His eyes filled with tears, but he quickly blinked them away and focused on the needle that was in his arm to try to get himself back together. "I'm just checking your pulse and I was going to listen to your lungs," Caleb said. "You're gonna need to eat something soon…"

"Pass," Alec breathed. He checked to make sure Ben was asleep and was glad that he was. He didn't want his brother to know that he didn't want to eat.

"Alec, I know it doesn't sound good, but you do need to eat," Caleb said. "You'll heal faster if you eat."

"I haven't eaten anything in a while," Alec admitted. Max knew he hadn't had anything for a while, but that was because they barely gave them anything while they were in their cell. He hadn't wanted to eat anything anyway since getting tortured nonstop really made it hard to be able to stomach anything.

"I know you haven't, which is why you need to start eating again," Caleb said. "You look even skinnier than I remember." He looked away from Caleb, but Ben was on his other side, and even though he was asleep, he knew his brother would freak out when he found out he wasn't eating. "I can make up some nice warm broth. You know I'm a good cook, and just think about how warm you'll feel when you eat some hot soup." A shiver ran up his spine, but he tried to ignore it. "Plus, that fever won't go away unless you start eating, which means you won't get warm again until you start eating."

He had to blink away tears again, but then he slowly nodded, "Just broth though, right?"

"Yeah, just broth," Caleb reassured. "It'll be nice and warm with some chicken flavor. How does that sound?"

"Not great, but I'll try it," Alec muttered.

"You just wait here, ok?" Caleb said with a small smile, brushing his hair back from his forehead.

He chuckled, but quickly stopped because that hurt. "Like I could move anywhere."

"From what I hear, you managed to walk all over that compound with some help," Caleb said.

"They told you about…um…"

"I know a lot more about you boys now than I used to," Caleb said. "And even if they hadn't told me what happened, I still helped with your surgery and I've seen all of your injuries, so I know for a fact that they tortured you."

"Are you mad at me?" Alec asked softly.

Caleb slowly sat down next to him and replied, "Yes, I'm mad at you. I told you that you and Ben were like sons to me, and I meant it, so yes, I'm mad that you let this happen. I don't like seeing you hurt, and I don't like knowing that you were tortured for over a month. I knew when you two left with Zack that I probably wouldn't ever see you again, but knowing that you were tortured for all that time…" Caleb stopped and looked away from him for a moment, but then looked back and said, "But no matter how mad I am about all that, I am happy to see you again, even if it is like this."

"I'm sorry," Alec whispered. "I think Ben's mad at me too, but I was mean to him…"

"I know he'll forgive you," Caleb said. "It seemed like every other day you two were fighting about something, but no matter how bad the fight was, you two always made up by the end of the day, even if the end of the day included stitches…"

"I left in the middle of the night while he was asleep," Alec said. "I left him a note as a goodbye…"

Caleb chuckled, which wasn't how he thought he would react, but then he said, "Yeah, I can guarantee he's pissed at you, but he's gonna wait until you're healed before he tears you a new one."

"I guess that's good," Alec whispered.

Caleb squeezed his hand, "I'm going to make you some broth before you fall asleep again, ok?"

He nodded, but mainly because he wanted to make Caleb happy, not that he was actually hungry. He wasn't feeling good again, but he would try to eat some soup for Caleb. He felt like he'd disappointed Caleb by going back to Manticore, and he didn't like that feeling.

He did fall asleep before Caleb came back, but Caleb got him to wake up again. "I'm gonna hold the bowl," Caleb said. "But you just eat what you can." He slowly reached for the spoon, but his hand was shaking too much to be able to hold the spoon and eat. "It's ok," Caleb soothed. He let the man dip out a spoonful of soup and bring it close enough so he could eat it. He felt pathetic, but this was better than spilling the soup all over himself.

He closed his eyes as the warm liquid slid down his throat. Surprisingly the soup tasted good and it felt kind of good to eat again. "Tastes good," Alec whispered.

"Good," Caleb said, getting another spoonful for him. "We'll start with broth, and then just slowly work up to solid foods again, ok?"

He nodded, but asked, "You won't tell Ben, right? He's freaked out enough as it is…I don't want to make this worse."

"As long as you keep trying to eat, I won't tell Ben," Caleb said.

He smiled a little as he ate some more broth.

* * *

"We have a problem," Zack whispered.

" _We_ don't have a problem," Ben quickly corrected. He looked to Alec to make sure he was still asleep and said, "Whatever's going on, Alec's staying out of it, which means I'm staying out of it. I don't care what the problem is."

"Ben, we let out hundred of transgenics," Zack said. "They're all free, but they have nowhere to go. And Logan said there's some signal that's telling everyone to regroup. It's gotta be Manticore telling them that, so we need to go to the rendezvous and stop them from taking all the transgenics back."

"Alec's hurt, so I'm staying here," Ben said. "I don't care what you do."

"Caleb and Logan can stay here," Zack said. "It's too dangerous for just me and Max to go by ourselves. We need you to come with us."

"What's going on?" Alec slurred, slowly waking up.

"Nothing. Go back to sleep," Ben whispered. He pulled Alec's blankets up further and carefully ruffled his hair, hoping he'd just go to sleep.

"We should at least tell him what's going on," Zack said.

He glared at his older brother, "He needs sleep."

"I'm awake now, so just tell me," Alec breathed.

"There's a signal for all the transgenics to rendezvous, which we think came from Manticore," Zack said, ignoring him. "Me and Max want to go intercept whoever we can to keep them out of Manticore, but it'd be better with three…"

Alec frowned and looked at him, so he quickly reassured, "I'm not going. I'm staying here with you." Alec still didn't look happy, and he knew his brother sort of wanted him to go and back up Max and Zack, but he really wanted him to stay here with him. "Alec, I don't want to leave you here by yourself…"

"Caleb will be here," Alec whispered.

"I'm not going, and you can't change my mind," Ben stated.

"We'd only be gone a couple days," Zack said. "We'd go there to intercept anyone we could while Logan can change the message from here."

"Then I guess we're going to stay here and help Logan," Ben said.

"Ben-"

"I'm not leaving my brother," Ben cut off. "Caleb can help him with his injuries, Logan can do his computer crap, but neither of them can protect him if something comes after us. I'm not leaving."

"Better just give up, Zack," Alec whispered. "He's got his stubborn face on…"

"Alec-"

"If he doesn't wanna go, I'm not gonna tell him to," Alec breathed. "Now, can you argue somewhere else? My headache's coming back…"

He glared at Zack for causing Alec more pain and gently rubbed his brother's good shoulder. "Do you want the washcloth?" He asked softly. Alec's eyes were closed again, but he did nod, so he ran out of the room and quickly got a wet washcloth for his brother. He put the washcloth on Alec's forehead and made sure he was still comfortable before he sat down again. "When are you leaving?" Ben asked softly.

"Max wants to leave soon. She doesn't want to chance anyone getting taken back there," Zack said.

He nodded, "Alec's gonna want to say bye to both of you."

"I really wish you'd go too," Zack said, trying one more time to convince him.

"I'm not changing my mind," Ben whispered.

"I told you he wasn't going to go," Max said suddenly walking into the room. She walked right over to Alec and sat next to him on the bed. "And I don't blame him," she said, looking at Alec. She smiled, and he looked over to see that Alec had managed to get his eyes open again. "Hey sleepyhead," Max teased.

"Hey," Alec replied, a small smile tugging at his lips.

"Me and Zack have to leave for a little while, but we shouldn't be gone more than a few days," Max said.

"I think I'll stay here," Alec breathed. His voice was still weak, but it was good to hear him trying to be funny again.

"I think that's a good idea," Max said, smiling a little bit at Alec attempt at humor.

Alec chuckled, but quickly stopped because of the pain. "Don't make me laugh…it hurts…"

"Sorry Alec," Max said.

"Promise you'll come back, ok?" Alec said.

"I'll wake you up as soon as I get back," Max promised.

"Good," Alec breathed, closing his eyes again.

Max leaned forward and gently kissed Alec's cheek. His brother didn't react to the kiss, but that was probably because he was already asleep again. He looked over at Zack to see what he thought of the kiss, but Zack was actually glaring at Alec. He frowned since that seemed a bit extreme, especially since Alec should be their favorite person for going back to Manticore. He didn't know what to think about Max kissing Alec, but he knew he wasn't going to be mad at either of them. It was nearly impossible for him to be mad at Alec right now since he'd missed his brother.

"We'll be back," Max said to him. "If anything changes with Alec, call us."

"I will," Ben said.

* * *

She didn't want to leave Alec while he was hurt like this, but if anyone was taken back to Manticore, then everything they did would be for nothing. But she already missed him. He'd been mostly asleep since they'd gotten to Logan's, but she'd been expecting that. She knew exactly how hurt Alec was, so she knew he was going to need a lot of time to recover, but she missed hearing his voice or seeing his smile. She knew he would recover eventually, but it was still going to take some time.

"How's your shoulder?" Zack asked after driving for a few miles in silence.

"Sore, but I'll live," Max said. "What about your leg?"

"Fine," Zack replied shortly. She frowned and looked over at her brother even though she had a tiny idea of why he sounded annoyed. She'd thought that she'd laid down the law about their relationship, but maybe she hadn't been clear enough. She only thought of Zack as her brother, nothing more. And she'd told him that, but he sounded mad, and the only reason she could think that he was mad was because she'd kissed Alec before they'd left.

Ben and Zack were her brothers, but Alec wasn't. It didn't really make sense, but she liked Alec. They were friends, but she also didn't want him to leave. She wanted to be around him, and she wanted to make sure he was ok. And she liked holding his hand and even kissing him…

She shook her head to get back on track. She couldn't think about Alec right now. She had a job to do, and she couldn't fail at this. Alec didn't even think of her that way, so it was pointless to think about. He wanted to go home to his cabin, so she needed to start thinking about him less. She needed to let him go when he wanted to. She couldn't force him to stay with her.

"Are you mad at Alec?" she asked, even though she knew he was probably madder at her, but he was taking it out on Alec.

"No…why would I be?" Zack asked back.

"Because I kissed him," Max said.

"He didn't kiss you back," Zack pointed out.

She glared at him for saying that, but it was true. She was the one who was always initiating contact with Alec, not the other way around. "Even if he did, there's no reason to be mad at him," Max said.

"Max-"

"I only think of you as my brother, Zack, that's all I want," Max quickly cut off. "I'm thankful that you and Ben broke us out, but if you did that just to win me over, it's not going to work. I really…I just…I know I probably shouldn't like him, but I kinda do…"

Zack was quiet for a few minutes, but then said, "I know I shouldn't take it out on either of you. I shouldn't have feelings for you, I know, and I'm trying to stop, but Alec…I broke him out for Ben, and then I got jealous because Alec and Ben automatically had a bond that I didn't have. And then he volunteers to go back to Manticore to do a suicide mission to try to rescue you. And you actually like him, like how I wanted you to like me, but…I should just get over it."

She smiled a little and tried to tease, "Ben's probably going to beat you up if you keep glaring at Alec."

Zack finally cracked a smile and nodded, "Yeah, I should probably stop doing that."

"He annoyed me when I first met him," she said. "I didn't think he ever talked about anything that mattered until he started talking about the cabin."

Zack huffed a laugh, "He hated that cabin. But I guess they made friends in town, and it is peaceful up there. They probably both liked the fresh air and being able to get away from everything for a while."

"I just wish he wasn't going to go back as soon as he can get out of bed again," Max muttered.

"Well, we've gotta figure this out first," Zack said. "Stop whoever we can from getting taken back."

"Yeah," she agreed, looking out the window again.

* * *

"Have you heard anything from them?" Alec asked.

"Not yet," Ben said.

"Are we worried?" Alec asked.

"Not yet," Ben said again.

He rolled his eyes, but even if they were worried, there wasn't much he could do. He hated that he was stuck to this bed, but he knew he couldn't move from it. He almost wished Ben had gone with Zack and Max to watch their backs, but he'd be a lot more worried if his brother had gone with them. He'd actually be freaking out if Ben had gone with them.

"Thanks for not going with them," Alec said.

Ben looked up at him in surprise, but then said, "Like I'd leave you alone right now."

"I know…I just…thanks," Alec said.

Ben smiled, but thankfully changed the subject for him, "How's your back feel? You've been laying on your back for a while, so…I don't know if you need to move a little or if there's anything we can do to help…"

"My back hurts a lot, but so do my ribs and my shoulder…and my leg feels like it's on fire…" Alec admitted.

"I'm gonna get Caleb so he can look you over again," Ben said.

"Ben…" he tried to stop his brother, but he was already gone. He shouldn't have admitted that much, but he was trying to be honest with his brother.

Caleb and Ben both came back over to him, and then Caleb got out his stethoscope and listened to him breathe. "Ben said your leg felt like it was on fire," Caleb said.

"Everything still hurts," Alec said. "It's not a big deal."

"It's time to check you over again anyway," Caleb said, "Just cooperate and this will be over before you know it."

"You say that every time, and every time it sucks," Alec grumbled.

"It'll start to get better, I promise," Caleb soothed. He just nodded since his pain was starting to get a little too high for him to talk without everyone knowing how much pain he was in. Caleb checked his ribs, which made him whimper, but he kept his gaze away from his brother. He knew Ben hated his injuries more than anyone else, but he wouldn't leave his side when it was time for him to get checked over. "Alec, I know it hurts, but I'm gonna have to get you on your side to change the bandages on your back."

"C-can't we skip it today?" Alec asked pitifully.

"I'm sorry Alec, I wish I could," Caleb said with regret. "Ben." Caleb nodded for his brother to come closer, and Ben quickly got closer and grabbed his hand. He squeezed Ben's hand, silently thanking him for being there for him, and Ben immediately squeezed his hand back.

"Just squeeze as hard as you need to, ok?" Ben whispered. "You won't break my hand."

He let out a pathetic chuckle, "Like I could break anyone's hand right now…"

"You will," Bean reassured.

"Alec, hang in there, ok?" Caleb said, giving him a quick warning before he got him on his side.

He whimpered and squeezed Ben's hand, closing his eyes tight, so he wouldn't have to see his brother. There was a roaring in his ears signaling that he was probably going to pass out pretty soon, but he held on to consciousness. He knew it would be easier to just pass out, but he needed to stay conscious. He would feel better if he could just stay conscious for more than five minutes.

"Alec, you can pass out, it's ok," Ben whispered.

"No…I'm ok…" Alec forced out.

"Liar," Ben muttered.

He chuckled, but his chuckle sounded more like he was about to start crying, which he might actually start doing. He didn't want to cry, but he hurt. He hurt so bad, he just wanted it to stop. Ben holding his hand was the only thing reminding him that he had to hang on. He stayed alive to be tortured just so he could have a brother again. He survived the torture, now he just needed to survive the recovery.

"Ok, that's it," Caleb said. "I got more ointment on your back, and this stuff should numb you for a while, and I changed the bandages, so you should be good for a little while."

He was eased back down, but everything hurt so bad, he still couldn't open his eyes. Ben gently wipes away the tears that were escaping, and then very gently ruffled his hair. "Now Caleb just has to check your shoulder and your leg, and then it's over," Ben said.

"Need a minute…" Alec breathed.

"Alec, he can give you more pain medication," Ben whispered. "You don't have to suffer through this."

"I'm alright…just need a minute," Alec said.

"Alec, I'm just-"

"No," he said, sounding a tiny bit stronger. "Don't give me anything. I want to stay conscious."

"Ok," Caleb said.

"Can he go ahead and check your shoulder?" Ben asked.

"Not yet…"

"Alright Alec," Ben said.

"Distraction," Alec mumbled.

"Ok…um, are you and Max…do you guys like each other?" Ben asked.

"What?"

"Max kissed you before she left," Ben said. "You might not have noticed since I think you might've been asleep, but she kissed you and it seemed like that wasn't the first time."

"She just did that to make me feel better," Alec muttered. "She said I was annoying at Manticore, but she felt bad 'cause I kept getting tortured."

"She got mad at me," Ben admitted. "I said I was going to take you home to the cabin once you were ready to travel and she got mad."

"Well, she did say we could share a bed," Alec said, forcing a smirk.

"Alec, c'mon be serious," Ben said. "Tell me if you like her."

"Dude, she's your sister," Alec said, trying to still play this off.

"But she's not _your_ sister," Ben said. "C'mon, I'm your brother. You're supposed to tell me these things. Besides, if you do like her, then maybe we could stay here for a while."

"Ben…I wanna go home…" Alec said. He sounded like he was whining, but he didn't care. He missed the cabin. He missed having a home. He did like Max, but he wanted to go home."

"Ok, I just wanted to make sure," Ben said.

"I do like her, but I don't think she likes me. And I really wanna go home," Alec said honestly.

"Hey, I already laid down the law and said we were leaving," Ben said with a small smile. "But I think you're wrong."

"About what?" he asked. He was losing his energy, so he was getting too tired to pay much attention.

"I think Max does like you," Ben said.

"Whatever," he said, amused.

"It's true! Why else would she argue so much about us sticking around?" Ben said.

"If you say so…" Alec mumbled. His eyes closed, but he managed to get them back open.

"Alec, go to sleep," Ben said. "It'll be easier on you to go back to sleep."

"Maybe another dose of painkillers too…" Alec slurred. "Wanna get more than one hour of sleep…"

"Caleb already injected some into your IV," Ben said. "Go to sleep."

"'M'kay…" Alec said. "Wake me up when they come back…" He fell asleep before he could realize that he'd said something a little off.

* * *

His eyes filled with tears when his brother let that slip. He'd said it like it was a habit, which it must have been. He must have said that to Max every time he fell asleep. He hated this. He hated that he hadn't been there for his brother. He hated that his brother was in pain and had been in pain for a long time.

He looked up at Caleb, who was already looking at him. "He said that like it was a habit," Caleb said.

"I know…" Ben whispered.

"I swear, if you boys ever put me through this again…" Caleb muttered, trailing off before he could finish his threat.

"I'm sorry," Ben said. "I didn't want him to go…"

"I know you didn't," Caleb said. "I should just be glad you called to get me to help."

"He admitted that he needed a hospital when we got him out…" Ben said. "I knew it would be bad, but…If Alec says he needs to go to a hospital, it's serious…"

"Ben, he's still alive, and as far as I can tell, we got his worst injuries taken care of," Caleb said. "The internal bleeding was bad and his ribs…He was really close to puncturing a lung, but his internal injuries have been taken care of. And he's already doing better than I thought he would. I thought we were going to have to keep him on the machine to breathe for a lot longer. Not only is he off of the machine, he's awake and talking. He hasn't moved much, but he's awake and talking, which is really good."

"He might have an infection in his leg…" Ben said.

"That's our big concern now," Caleb said. "He's already on antibiotics, but I'm going to check his wound to see how he's doing, ok?"

He slowly nodded, "Yeah…ok…"

Caleb nodded too, and then moved the blanket that was over Alec's leg. Caleb took off the gauze, but he didn't look happy when he saw the wound. He slowly got up, even though he wanted to jump up to see what was wrong, but he was still holding Alec's hand and he didn't want to alert him to the fact that something was wrong. So, he slowly stood up, keeping Alec's hand in his, and looked at what could be wrong. "I'm going to call Dr. Carr," Caleb said. "Don't panic, ok? I know he's got an infection, but Dr. Carr and I can put him under-"

"What? Why do you have to put him under again?" Ben asked.

"Ben, even getting him on his side nearly put him in enough pain to pass out. It's for him," Caleb said. "He's in too much pain as it is. I don't want to add to it when we could put him under instead."

"The infection already looks bad," Ben said.

"Ben, sit down," Caleb said. He slowly sat down, moving to hold Alec's hand with both of his. "His body is broken. He can't keep up with all the injuries he has, but his body is trying. This bullet wound was cleaned. It looks like it was cleaned after it happened, and we cleaned it again here, but he just can't keep up, even with the extra antibiotics. So, we'll clean it again. And maybe this time he'll let us keep him under longer to give his body a break. He needs as much help as he can get even if he won't admit it."

"I could give him blood now," Ben said. "I've recovered enough…I can at least give him a little."

"I'll check your blood pressure and heartrate, so we'll see, ok?" Caleb said. "But it won't do him any good if you're not around to help him. He's going to want those tubes out sooner or later, and who do you think he's going to listen to when he needs help to the bathroom?"

He smiled just a little bit and nodded, "Alright…if you say no, then I won't do it. But I want to help him as much as I can. My blood can help him heal, so it's worth it to me to give it to him."

"We'll see," Caleb said. "I'm not saying no, just a wait and see, ok?"

"Ok."

"But even if you're able to give him blood, he's still going to be in pain," Caleb warned. "Recovery is going to be hard with or without blood."

"I know…I just wish there was a better way to help him," Ben said.

* * *

 _More (hopefully) soon..._


	14. Chapter 14

"You have to do what?" Alec asked, his voice tired. He was in more pain now, but he definitely didn't want to have surgery again.

"Alec, your leg is infected," Caleb patiently explained. "To treat it, we're going to need to clean it thoroughly, and to do that it's going to cause you a lot of pain. It's not a surgery, it's just putting you under to try to save you from some pain."

"No," Alec breathed.

"Alec…please," Ben whispered. "It nearly kills you every time we have to change your bandages…It's supposed to _help_ you. And since I don't have enough blood to give some to you, putting you under is the only way to help."

"Ben, you're hurt too," Alec said, suddenly remembering his brother getting hit with shrapnel. "You're ok, right?" Alec asked in concern. "I'm sorry…I should've asked you sooner…"

"Hey, I'm fine," Ben said. "Max patched me up and Caleb checked on me a few hours ago to see if I could give you blood. Unfortunately, he said I can't give you any…"

"I'm ok," Alec whispered. "Just need some more sleep, that's all."

"That's not all, Alec. Your leg is seriously infected," Ben said. "If they don't get rid of that infection, then you could lose your leg."

"I hate goin' under, Ben," Alec admitted. "I don't know where I am, and I know I can't do anything…"

"I've got your back, you know I do," Ben soothed. "I'm not letting anyone get to you and I'll be here the whole time." His eyes filled with tears without his permission, but he blinked a whole bunch to try to get rid of them. "Caleb, can you give us a minute," Ben asked. Caleb nodded and gave his good shoulder a gentle squeeze before he gave them some space. "Alec, it's ok. I'm not going anywhere. I'm not going to leave you in here by yourself," Ben whispered. "But you need to get your leg fixed. You'll be in a lot more danger if you're down one leg. I'm your brother no matter what, but if we need to run from Manticore, it's gonna be a lot easier with two legs."

He chuckled even though it hurt, but then said, "You have to be here the whole time. You can't go anywhere, ok?"

"Ok," Ben said. "And I'll lay next to you as soon as Caleb says it's ok, and we'll watch TV all day."

"It hurts so bad…" Alec said.

"Putting you under will help," Ben said. "I know you don't want to do it, but it will help, I swear it will."

"Ok, ok," Alec muttered, finally agreeing. He still didn't want to do it, but this was more for Ben than for himself. No, he didn't want to lose his leg, but Ben hated to see him in pain, and he wanted to try to make up for walking out without even a goodbye to his brother. "Can I just ask for one thing before we do this?"

"Anything you want," Ben quickly agreed.

"Can we try to call Max?" Alec asked pitifully. "I want to check on her and talk to her before we do this…"

"Ok," Ben said even though they both knew Max wouldn't answer. Something was wrong and they needed to find them, but he couldn't go anywhere. Max and Zack missed the check-in, and they hadn't tried to check on him since they left, which meant something was wrong. Ben pulled out his phone and quickly tried to call Max just to make him happy.

"Hey Ben, I'm sorry we missed check-in. How's Alec?" Max asked in a rush.

"Max!" Ben said in surprise. "Are you ok? What's going on?"

He smiled since they were finally talking to Max again. He hadn't realized how much he missed her until he heard her voice. He blushed a little without meaning to, but seriously, just hearing her voice made him feel better. He needed to stop thinking like that though because Max didn't feel like that towards him. He was just the annoying screwup that she'd been stuck with. She just felt bad for him because he kept getting tortured and they needed each other to get out of there. They could be friends, and were friends, but they couldn't be more, so he shouldn't get his hopes up.

"Ben, tell me about Alec," Max snapped. "I don't have a lot of time. I know we missed check-in, but we're fine. But I need to know how Alec is."

"I'm fine," Alec said softly.

"Alec!" Max said, immediately sounding a lot happier than before. "Hey, are you really ok or are you just saying that?"

"I'm really ok. I'll be back on my feet by the time you guys get back," Alec said with a small smile.

His smile widened when Max called him out on it, "Liar. I know you won't be on your feet for a while, and I don't want you back on your feet until you're actually healed."

"Caleb's gonna put me under again," Alec said honestly. "My leg got infected, so to save me some pain we're gonna go with the happy drugs."

"Alec…I'm sorry. I tried to clean it while we were there but-"

"It's not your fault," Alec cut off. "I'm too hurt to heal and fight off infections, so it was just a toss up for which injury was gonna get infected."

"I wish I was there…" Max said, sounding sad. "But this is taking longer than we thought it would."

"What's going on?" Alec asked.

"It's not Manticore that sent out the signal," Max said. "We're trying to find out who it is, but they're covering their tracks."

"Did you stop the signal?" Ben asked. "Maybe you should come back, and we can all try to figure out who it is."

"That's the plan now," Max said. "We just have to make sure there are no stragglers. We got there too late for one group…"

"What happened?" Ben asked. "Were they taken somewhere? If it's not Manticore where would they take them?"

"Ben…they didn't take them," Max said. She sounded devastated, which meant bad news. He looked over at Ben and shook his head no. "They shot them…"

"How much longer are you going to stick around?" Alec asked. He didn't want more transgenics to die, but Max was in danger sticking around there and he wanted her and Zack to come back here while he recovered.

"We'll be back soon," Max said. "You just get your leg fixed up, ok?"

"And rest," Ben said. "Tell him to rest otherwise he won't do it."

Max laughed, which made him smile because he could imagine her laughing, looking at him with her warm brown eyes. He blushed again when he saw Ben looking at him, and quickly looked away. "Alright, rest too," Max said. "I'll call you again in a few hours once we have a solid plan."

"Ok, be careful," Alec said.

Ben looked at him once he hung up, but instead of teasing him, he asked, "You ok now? You want me to give Caleb the greenlight?"

"I feel better," Alec said. "I don't like that someone other than Manticore is looking for us, but I guess we'll figure that out once they get back."

"Yeah, but _we_ still won't be doing anything until you're back on your feet. And you can't get back on your feet if you lose a leg," Ben said.

"Ok, ok, go get Caleb and tell him to get this show on the road," Alec said. "And you have to be there, don't forget."

"I won't forget," Ben said with a smile. "I have your back."

"I know you do," Alec whispered. His energy burst from talking to Max was gone, so he was exhausted again.

"Hey, just rest for a while," Ben said, walking back over to squeeze his good hand. "We'll get your leg taken care of, and then more resting will happen."

"Mmmm, can't wait," Alec slurred, closing his eyes again.

* * *

Max smiled a little when she saw Alec and Ben both asleep on the same tiny bed. Alec was leaning against Ben while Ben had his arm wrapped around Alec's shoulders. She was a little surprised that Ben didn't wake up when they walked in, but he had to be exhausted since he'd stayed up watching over Alec as much as he could.

"Looks like he's ok," Zack whispered. She had been distracted the whole time they were gone, and they both knew she was worried about Alec. "Caleb's not sitting next to him, so that's a good sign."

"Should we wake them up and tell them that we're back?" Max asked. All she wanted to do was walk over there and grab Alec's hand like she had back at Manticore. She was allowed to touch him as much as she wanted at Manticore since she was all he had. But now he had Ben and Zack, and even Caleb, around to comfort him when he needed it. He didn't need her to hold his hand and brush her fingers through his hair, and she needed to remember that they had no choice back in that cell. He would have died without some human contact. No matter what her feelings were for him, she had to remember that he'd never kissed her back. She'd kissed him multiple times back at Manticore, but he'd never tried to kiss her.

"I don't know…Alec needs his rest," Zack reluctantly said. Their talk had really helped. Zack shouldn't be mad at Alec for her liking him even though Alec didn't like her back. She'd made it very clear that she didn't feel that way towards Zack, but she felt that way towards Alec, and Zack understood, which was great because it meant she didn't have to keep turning him down and Zack would treat Alec like a brother again.

"He needs to know we're safe too," Max pointed out. "He'll sleep better if he knows we're safe."

Zack smiled and finally nodded, walking over to Ben instead of Alec because they both knew if someone got too close to Alec, then Ben would probably attack them. Zack carefully shook Ben's shoulder and whispered, "Ben, me and Max are back."

"What?" Ben mumbled sleepily.

"We're back," Zack said.

"You're ok?" Ben asked.

"Yeah, we're ok," Zack said with a small smile. "Can we wake Alec up for a second? He should probably know we're ok too."

"Yeah…" Ben mumbled.

"I can wake him up," Max said, looking over at Zack. Her brother gave her a slightly teasing smile, but she ignored him and walked over to Alec. She gently brushed her fingers through his hair, and then smiled when Alec's lips twitched up in his sleep. "Alec, wake up for a few minutes."

"You're back?" Alec slurred.

"Yeah, we're back," Max said. "You don't have to wake up all the way, we just wanted to let you know we're ok."

"Good," Alec breathed. "Missed you…"

She instantly warmed at his sleepy slip up, and she leaned forward to kiss his forehead. If he could slip, so could she. "We'll talk more later, ok?" Max said.

"Ok…"

She smiled when he snuggled against Ben again and fell back asleep.

"You've got it so bad for him," Zack teased once Alec and Ben were asleep again.

"Shut up," Max said, rolling her eyes. But it felt good to have brothers again. Zack and Ben were her brothers, and this was a lot of fun to have family again, especially since Zack was actually acting like her brother again.

She quickly walked over to the bathroom and took a shower since they'd been traveling, and she hadn't been able to be girly for a while. She took a long shower, took the time to condition her hair and shave her legs, and then even did her nails when she was done. No, she was not making herself look pretty for Alec, she was doing this more for herself than for him, but if he noticed that she actually was a girl, then that would help too.

She walked back over to Alec's bed once she was clean and took up the empty chair next to him. He smiled a little when she walked over, and she knew it probably had nothing to do with her, but it made her feel better either way. But what was even better was that he slowly woke up a few seconds later. She was finally going to get her chance to talk to him by herself.

"Hey," she said softly when he frowned in confusion.

He looked over at her with his beautiful green eyes and gave her a loopy smile. "Hey…"

"I guess they really did give you the happy drugs, huh?" Max gently teased.

"Yeah, feel nice and numb," Alec mumbled.

"And they cleaned up your leg?" Max asked.

"Guess so," Alec said. "Only woke up when you came back and now…"

"Want me to check?" Max asked.

"Sure," Alec said. She imagined he would have shrugged if he could have, but his shoulder was still messed up and his other shoulder was pressed against Ben, so no shrugging for him.

She got up and carefully moved his blankets, and then pulled up the edge of the gauze taped to his leg. "It looks less swollen," Max said, holding herself back from touching his leg. "It's still a little red and kinda bruised from the surgery, but it looks like they got the infection under control."

"Surprised they still let me have the blankets," Alec mumbled, sounding sleepy again.

"They'll probably make you take them off some tomorrow," Max said.

"Great…" Alec said. "Already cold thinking about it…"

She put her hand on his forehead without thinking, but said, "You still have a bad fever."

Alec smirked, but then asked, "When am I gonna see this famous bed of yours?"

"You just keep dreaming about it since that's as close as you're going to get," Max said even though she didn't really mean that. But if she said anything else, then Alec would know, and then he might not want her around anymore.

"We could do a jail break," Alec suggested even though they both knew that wasn't going to happen.

"Hey, I think one jail break is enough for a while," Max teased.

"Yeah, alright," Alec gave in.

"But…it's gonna be hard to even show you my bed if you take off for the mountains as soon as you're healed," Max said slowly. She had to take this chance while she could. She didn't know when the next time she could talk to him by herself would be.

"Max, that cabin is my home," Alec whispered.

"I know, but I don't want you guys to leave so soon," Max said. "I know that's your home, but…I'm going to miss you if you leave."

Alec smiled a little, "You act like me going home equals never seeing me again. But my home to your home is only a two-hour drive. I could make daily trips here, or even better, we could have sleepovers…"

She laughed, feeling a weight lift since Alec had just reassured her that him moving didn't mean the end. She was just so used to never seeing anyone from Manticore, she was afraid to let him out of her sight. "I missed you," she finally said.

"I missed you too," Alec said. "It's too bad this bed isn't big enough for three of us…"

She brushed her fingers through his hair again, and then cupped his cheek. He leaned into her touch, so she sat down and asked, "Do I still get to see your cabin?"

"How else are you gonna see my porch?" Alec asked back. "But I gotta warn you, there's no plumbing, and even though my bed is the best bed there ever was, I'm guessing your bed is bigger."

"You just won't let that go, will you," Max said, but she couldn't hide her smile.

"Hey, you said we could share," Alec teased.

"I think you were the one that said it," Max argued.

"Either way," Alec said. He sounded tired again, and she knew she should let him sleep, but she had actually missed hearing his voice. She'd been annoyed when she met him because he talked so much, but she loved his voice now.

She leaned forward before he could fall asleep and gently kissed his lips. She was done tip-toeing around, she'd done enough of that with Logan and she didn't want to repeat that, so, she was going to know one way or the other if Alec liked her. But to her surprise, he kissed her back. He kissed her even though he was in pain and he could barely breathe, but to her, kissing him was like everything was right.

He broke off the kiss, and then said, "Max, I, um, I really like kissing you, but can we kiss some more when I can move my other arm at least? Ben has me trapped here."

She leaned forward and kissed him again, but she kept it short. "So, you're ok with this?"

"I was really hoping _you_ would be ok with this," Alec said. "I thought I just annoyed you…"

"You did at first," Max said. "But I think I started liking you more when you stopped being so sarcastic and you told me about the cabin. That was really you."

"That's because that's been my only real home," Alec said. "And it's thanks to Zack and Ben that I even have it in the first place." He looked up at her, and then said, "And it's thanks to you that I'm alive to even get to see them again."

She looked away from his intense gaze, sorry that she didn't even have his hand to hold instead. "I wish I could have done more," Max finally said.

"Would you look at me," Alec demanded. She looked at him in surprise, and he actually blushed, and then stuttered, "Sorry, I just, uh, I can't…I can't make you look at me because I can't move…so please? Please just look at me…"

She smiled a little since he was just cute when he was embarrassed. "Sorry. I'll try to remember that," she said.

"I've never been this helpless, so I'm not used to this," Alec said.

"You're not helpless," Max argued. "You're hurt, but you're not helpless."

"I can't move, I can't feed myself, I can't even go to the bathroom," Alec said. "I'm trapped here, so don't just get up and walk away, don't look away, don't ignore me, ok? At least not until I'm able to do something for myself."

"Ok Alec," Max whispered.

"Alright, now I'm worn out," Alec muttered.

"We can talk more later," Max reassured. "In fact, we probably should talk more later. You should get some more sleep, ok?"

"You aren't gonna take off again are you?" Alec asked.

"I'm not going anywhere," Max said, leaning forward to gently kiss Alec's cheek. He smiled a little as his eyes closed, and then his breathing slowed in sleep.

* * *

"Ben…"

"Yeah?" He looked at his brother in concern since he'd barely been awake since they had cleaned out his bullet wound. He'd stayed glued to Alec's bed since his brother was leaning against him as he slept, and he refused to leave Alec anyway while he was hurt like this.

"Um…can you move to my other side?" Alec asked, looking away from him. His brother was embarrassed about something, but maybe he'd just gotten a crick in his neck or something and was too embarrassed to just say it.

"Sure," Ben said. He carefully moved away from Alec, making sure his brother was steady before he went around to his other side, careful to not bump into Max who was resting in the chair next to his brother's bed. Alec immediately leaned against him again once he was in the bed, so he carefully held his brother again. "Did your neck start hurting?" Ben asked.

"No," Alec breathed, closing his eyes.

"Then why the move?" Ben asked. "Are you just doing this to mess with me? Because that's not very nice…"

"It's for Max," Alec whispered.

He frowned, thinking maybe his brother's head was hurting or something since he wasn't making much sense. "Um…ok?"

"She kissed me," Alec whispered. "Last night. She kissed me."

"So, she likes you," Ben said, a smile tugging at his lips. He hadn't known how to feel about Alec and Max possibly liking each other, but after talking to Alec about it, he knew he was ok with it. His little brother liked someone, and who better to like than someone he already loved like a sister.

"Yeah."

"And you like her," Ben said. He couldn't stop his smile now, especially since this was the happiest he'd really seen Alec since they had left the cabin.

"Yeah."

"So, that chair is for her?" Ben asked, trying to figure out how him moving to the other side of the bed had anything to do with Max.

Alec smirked a little though and said, "It's so she can hold my hand."

"Smooth," he said with a chuckle.

"Told you I still had game…"

"Dude, I bet you were blushing like crazy when she kissed you last night," Ben teased.

"Was not," Alec argued.

"I bet you started stuttering too," Ben said. "I, uh…I…It's like you forget how to talk when it's someone you actually like."

"How would you know that?" Alec asked, waking up a little more.

"Claire," Ben said. "Back home. You got all tongue-tied around her and blushed all the time, but with the other girls you flirted with, yeah, you were a smooth talker then. But with Claire, I thought you had a stroke or something."

"Shut up," Alec muttered.

"So, Claire is ancient history?" Ben asked, trying to figure out just how much Alec liked Max.

"Claire who?" Alec said with a smile. "Trust me, I haven't thought about Claire for a long time."

"Good," Ben said.

"Good?"

"Yeah, good," Ben said.

"You cool with me and Max liking each other?" Alec asked. "Because Zack sure seemed pissed before he left and who knows how Logan's gonna feel about it. Not that me and Logan are exactly friends, but did Zack like Max? Is that why he's mad at me? 'Cause I thought he was pro me going back to Manticore to get Max back, but-"

"Alec, take a breath," Ben cut off. "You think Zack's mad at you for something?" He didn't like that. He'd kick Zack's ass if he was going to start being mean to Alec.

"I don't know…he's just been weird," Alec said. "I just wanna go back to sleep."

"Alec-"

"Don't. Don't even think about kicking his ass or anything," Alec warned.

"I'll do what I want," Ben grumbled. "You went back there because of him. And because of me. The least he could do is be grateful for what you did." Alec groaned and knocked his forehead against his shoulder. "Don't do that," Ben said, reprimanding his brother like he was a child.

"I shouldn't have said anything," Alec said.

"Ok, ok," Ben quickly placated. "I'll drop it for now."

Alec was quiet, and he almost thought he was asleep again, but his breathing hadn't slowed like it usually did when he fell asleep. "I'm sorry," Alec finally whispered. He frowned and looked at his brother in confusion since that hadn't even been a fight. They'd had way worse fights than that before. "I'm sorry I broke my promise…"

"Alec-"

"I'm sorry. I didn't want to go," Alec quickly cut off. "As soon as I left, I wanted to come back, I swear I did, but I'm glad I went now…"

"Alec, I'm just glad to have you back," Ben said, holding his brother closer. "I didn't know what I was gonna do if we got there and you had died. You almost died on the way here. You can't do that to me again, ok?"

"I'll try not to," Alec said.

Alec snuggled against his side, and this time, he knew he was asleep.

* * *

"You have to take your pills too," Caleb said. "I know you want to talk about whatever is going on, but you need your painkillers and antibiotics. So, take your pills, and then you can play with your friends."

"We're not playing," Alec grumbled. "And I can't take those until after we talk because they make me sleepy."

"They're supposed to make you sleepy because you need to sleep," Caleb said with a fond smile.

"I need to know what's going on. I know I can't help, but I need to at least be in the loop," Alec said. "I promise I'll take them as soon as we're done."

Caleb shook his head, "You are way too convincing when you want to be."

"Or you're just a big softy," Alec replied with a smirk.

"Careful. You want to be part of this talk or not," Caleb threatened, but he knew he wasn't being serious. Caleb knew he was going to be part of this talk, pills or no pills. "Just promise to rest when you need it. You and I both know anything more than 10 minutes is gonna drain you right now."

"You'd be surprised how long I can do something when someone tells me I can't," Alec said.

"Alec," Caleb warned. "I have more sedatives, and I will use them."

"I'll rest when I'm tired," Alec caved. "Tell them to come in here and talk to me." He had asked them all to leave while Caleb did his check today because he had asked him to remove a few tubes from him. He had won the argument but had lost the argument about using a wheelchair for a while. He would try to argue again later because he was already exhausted, and he still had a very lengthy conversation ahead of him.

"Ok, but I'm not leaving this room for this talk," Caleb said. "I know Ben's going to watch over you, but I will be too."

"Fine," he sighed, trying to pretend like this was a big inconvenience. Caleb smiled though, like he knew he was secretly happy that Caleb was still concerned about him.

He let his eyes close while Caleb went to go lay down the law with the others before he brought them back in here. He felt like he could easily fall asleep again, but Zack and Max were back, and he was finally coherent enough to find out what was going on, so they had to take this time to talk. But he still hurt. He hadn't started healing yet, which sucked, but once he did, he would have even less energy.

"You wanna do this later?" Ben asked softly, making him jump. "Easy, it's just me."

"I'm alright," Alec whispered. "The check was harder than I would like to admit…"

"We can still wait a few hours to talk," Ben said.

"No, I wanna know what's going on," Alec breathed. "Just talk. I'm listening even if my eyes are closed."

"Ok, I'll let the others come in here," Ben said. He chuckled even though it hurt, but his brother was still watching out for him. "I've got your back, Alec."

"I know you do," Alec whispered.

His brother messed up his hair before he left the room again. This time he heard everyone's footsteps as they walked, or rolled in Logan's case, into the room. He kept his eyes closed but smiled a little when Max gently grabbed his good hand and kissed his knuckles like she had back in their cell.

"You sure we should talk right now?" Zack asked in concern. "This can wait…"

"I'm alright," Alec said. "Just talk, I'm listening."

He heard furniture being moved as everyone found places to sit down. Ben sat on the edge of his bed, and he knew Max was next to him on his other side, but he wasn't sure where everyone else was. He'd figure it out once he could get his eyes open again.

"Alec, rest," Max soothed, gently brushing his hair back. "All we know is that someone other than Manticore sent out that signal. We won't have any leads for a while still, so rest."

"I'm awake," he said, forcing his eyes open. He started sweating though because of the pain and the energy it was taking to keep his eyes open.

"I'm calling this," Caleb said, standing up and walking over to him. "You gave it a great effort, but it's time to go to sleep again. We can have whatever talk this is later."

"It…it hurts to breathe again," he admitted. He winced as his breath shot pain throughout his entire body.

"C'mon, take your pills," Caleb soothed, helping him take his pills. "Do you want the oxygen mask? I can switch it out, it's no problem."

"No," Alec breathed. He leaned against Ben's side and just tried to stop the room's sudden spin out of control.

"Just relax," Ben said.

He nodded and just listened to his brother. No matter how much he wanted to talk right now, he was still too injured to stay awake for that long. He shouldn't have let Caleb do the stupid check first, he should have talked first, and then let Caleb do the check. But he couldn't change it now because he was out.

* * *

"How long was I out?" Alec asked, weakly pushing himself up slightly, so he wasn't completely laying on his brother.

"Almost four hours," Ben said.

He groaned and shook his head in disgust. "I hate this. I should be better than this."

"If you weren't so beat up, I'd knock some sense into you right now," Ben said.

"I still hurt, I'm not healing at all, I'm a burden on all of you, I-"

"Shut up," Ben snapped. "Just stop right now, or I've gotta leave for a while just so I don't hit you." He didn't say it, but he should've died back there. Everyone would be better off if he had. They all had to take care of him because he was so weak. If he was even half the soldier Manticore had tried to make him to be, then he wouldn't be in this situation in the first place. He cried out in surprise pain as Ben suddenly moved, jostling him more than he'd been jostled for a while. "Stop. Stop it, Alec!" Ben yelled.

"There should be a rule to that you can't yell at your brother when he's bedbound," Alec breathed, trying not to show how much pain just moving a little bit had caused him.

"Do you even know how mad I am at you?!" Ben shouted, ignoring him. "The least you could do is rest and get better! I know what you're thinking and it's pissing me off!"

"Really?" Alec challenged. "You know what I'm thinking? Did you suddenly develop the ability to read minds?!"

"You're wishing you would have died! You think it would be a lot easier for everyone if you had died," Ben snarled. "But you don't even know how messed up I was when you just left! You left without even saying goodbye! You could have died while you were there and I…I would've never seen you again…"

"I didn't wanna go," Alec said pitifully, fighting back tears. Stupid weak body was failing him again.

Ben's anger immediately left, and his brother was by his side again. "You would still be my brother even if you lost your leg, even if we got there and you were paralyzed, or blind, or deaf, no matter what, you're my brother. And you even thinking that I would be better off if you were dead is just insane." A stupid tear slipped free and streaked down his cheek before he could stop it, and he quickly looked away from his brother, so he wouldn't have to see the look on his face. "Hey, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have yelled at you, I should have waited, but I don't like it when you think like that."

"I'm fine. Yelling was good," Alec said, his voice thick. "I just…I missed you."

Ben smiled, "I missed you too."

"I can't help it…" Alec said. His brother looked at him, so he tried to explain, "I…I'm not supposed to be this weak…They were never gonna fix me, Ben. I was too far gone for them to fix, they were just using me to get to Max. They just needed me to last long enough to get her to do what they wanted."

Ben carefully sat down again but facing him this time instead of sitting next to him side-by-side. "I wanted to get you out of there sooner…" Ben whispered.

"You got me out, Ben. I'm alive," Alec reassured. "I'm pretty banged up, but Caleb keeps saying I should heal."

Ben looked at him for a few seconds before he nodded and changed the subject for him. "You need some water? Or how 'bout some soup? It's better than beans, and I really should have thought about food sooner…Have you eaten anything?"

"Caleb's been feeding me soup as much as he can," Alec said. "I can only eat a few bites at a time, so he's doin' what he can."

"I'm gonna make some more for you, ok? You need to eat," Ben said, getting up again and heading for the kitchen before he could stop him.

He knew it would happen sooner or later, and he was surprised it had taken his brother this long to even figure it out. But he could barely eat the few bites that Caleb had been making him eat every so often. He didn't want Ben to know how much he wasn't eating.

Maybe if he fell asleep, he wouldn't have to eat any of it. He did want to sleep again but he wanted to reassure his brother that he was ok, or at least better than he was.

"You don't have to eat all of it," Ben said as he walked back over to him with the soup. "And I'll hold it, ok?"

"Yeah, ok," Alec breathed, deciding it would be best to just try and eat some of it. Ben carefully sat next to him again and held the bowl, so he could try to eat.

* * *

 _More soon..._


End file.
